Darkness Rising (Book One)
by Blue-Eyes Black Wolf
Summary: While the Titans were away defeating Brushogun's ink army in Tokyo, they left behind several loose ends. For instance, whatever happened to Slade? What was that creature that got away prior to their trip? And why has Doctor Light gained a sudden interest in darkness? The Titans face even more questions when a stranger appears in Jump City. Is he friend, or foe? Only one knows.
1. Road to California

"Ah, you must be the young prince", said the strange man through the cloud of dust.

A large hole in the wall stood behind him, the hole he blasted upon his random entrance. The dust eventually clears to reveal a slim man dressed in black with designs throughout his outfit that compares him to a spark plug. I leap over my register, nearly kicking my customer across the face in the process. If it weren't for the fact that two minutes prior to the stranger's entrance he took the time to express his disgust in the fact that I work there, I might've taken the time to apologize.

"Just hold on, who exactly are you", I asked as I pointed my finger at him dramatically. Perhaps I watch too much television.

"Why, I'm your next challenge. I'm here to claim the glory of defeating the infamous Prince of Darkness".

"I can see that, but who _are_ you? I've never even met you, let alone heard of you, and here you come blasting through my workplace, which by the way is a military shopping mall, and declaring yourself as the vague title of "my next challenge". Here's an idea, how about a name? Who the frig are you?"

"My apologies, your grace. I guess we can't all be as well-known as you —"

"Don't patronize me", I interrupted as a growl escaped from my throat mid-sentence.

"As you wish. I am who they call Doctor Light". Something in his suit must've activated as he said that for he was now surrounded with an electrical aura.

"I see…", I said as I sized him up by surrounding myself with my own purple aura.

"So it's true, the mighty prince runs from no challenge."

"That is correct. And since you know so much about me, you must also know what I am known for. So I will only ask you nicely once and only once, turn around and walk away, now."

Without hesitation he pushed one of his palms towards me as if he were firing a repulsor blast. A single blast of light escaped from it and slammed into me. The recoil sent me crashing through two of the freezers near the registers and into the jewelry counter. The valued customers at this point were either running in panic or ignorantly standing nearby with their camera phones recording their next YouTube upload. I picked myself off the ground and onto my hands and knees. Doctor Light walks over with both palms out for another attack.

_That won't work twice._ When his next blast was fired I was ready for it. I raised my right hand, fingers stretched, and absorbed the blast. Once that was done, I could feel his power coursing through my veins. The raw power of light amplified my own powers as static electricity sparked along my arms. To show off my increase in power I change my eyes from brown to purple. He fired again. I jumped out of the way. He fires at me once more while I'm still in the air. I don't have time to dodge so I exhaled as hard as I could. A powerful flame of purple, black, and red sores from my mouth and collides with the light. The resulting explosion caused enough of a cloud to temporarily conceal me from the Doctor. I stand there for a moment as I look at my foe. His eyes cautiously dart back and forth. He cannot see me, but I can see him quite clearly. It was payback time. I push my right palm forward and release a blast of my newly acquired power in the form of a single bolt of purple lightning, my own personal touch. Doctor Light yells in shock as he sores through the air towards the wall he originally blasted through. It was then my instincts kicked in, and everything slowed down. My adrenaline levels were through the roof as my eyes showed me the world in slow motion. I leap forward as if I were about to tuck and roll, but instead Change in midair.

_Blindimon digivolve to…. Lobomon!_ As I think that to myself on the way to the ground, I realize that I indeed watch _way_ too much t.v.. I dash forward as fast as my four paws could take me and I leap once again at the still slow motion and airborne Doctor Light. I then instinctively lean in with my right shoulder as I think to myself, _Take Down attack!_ I slam into the flying Doctor as time seems to correct itself. My foe blasts through the wall again, this time creating a brand new hole. Doctor Light immediately picks himself up and fires a barrage of blast attacks.

_Agility_, I thought to myself as I dash through the mall dodging every single blast. Patrons screamed as merchandise and shelves flew through the air. I would occasionally send another bolt of lightning his way in midair hoping to throw him off balance for another assault, but surprisingly he held his ground. When he failed to strike me after several attempts, he instead turned his attention towards the patrons. At first they were warning shots which forced me to move closer to him little by little. He continues to fire several more attempts at me only for me to dodge them all once again.

"I grow tired of the game of chase, you filthy mutt!" In the chaos Doctor Light runs over to a little girl who apparently became separated from her mother and snatches her arm.

"Get your hands off her", yells a man who I assume was her father as he charged towards him. The Doctor didn't appreciate that.

"Not another step", says Doctor Light as he points his free palm at the girls head. The girl whimpered as static electricity sparked through his fingers and through her hair as it slowly ascended over her head. He turns back to me with a grin on his face. "Now be a good little doggy and come to your master", said the Doctor as he insulted the black werewolf only feet away from him. I let out a roar in objection to his demand. A small spark zaps the girl's cheek, she screams in fear. Doctor Light's grin doubled in size. I couldn't jeopardize her safety so I walked over to him. My plan was simple, walk over, give a whimper, lower my ears and tail into the submissive position, and wait for an opening. Unfortunately I took four steps and wound up triggering a trap. He had a force field waiting for me, and now I was encased in it. I rose to my hind legs and clawed and punched at the walls of the shield, nothing worked. As the force field rose off the ground I looked down and noticed that the source of the shield was four small receptor-like devices. Currents of electricity were surging from the devices and into the shield, making it stronger by the second. The longer I stayed in the force field, the harder it was going to be to get out.

"Ha ha ha. At last, ultimate power shall be mine! Once I harness your dark energy, I will convert every last drop of it into light to absorb for myself. With you out of the way, no man, woman, child, or teen will ever stand in my way again!"

"Children and teens? Suddenly I feel very embarrassed for falling into such a cliche trap."

"Silence" he screamed as he lifted his palm towards me. It was then that his palm glowed for a moment before triggering a reaction in the force field, because several hundred volts of electricity surged through the shield. I couldn't help but howl in pain. "I waited for what feels like an eternity to get to this point, and I will not be humiliated by a floating, talking dog!"

"Again with the dog references? I'm a frigging werewolf for Christ's sake!" He chuckled for a moment before speaking again.

"Indeed you are. A werewolf fueled with the powers of darkness. Darkness so powerful that it allows you to bend all six elements to your will, and allows you to become a great many different monsters."

"Oh, I see. I had no idea you were such a huge fan of mine. Is that why you came all the way out here? If you wanted my autograph, all you had to do was ask me for it."

"You sicken me!"

"What did _I_ do?"

"I told you, I need your dark energy in order to gain limitless power. You just happen to be cursed with the power I need. Your only crime is that you exist. But since I'm such a nice guy, I will spare you the agony of being the only one of your kind. It's the least I can do." I let out what I like to call my evil laugh, which in actuality is just me imitating Yami Bakura's laugh from my favorite anime show.

"There's a little problem with your plan, Doc. From what I've gathered, your plan only works so long as I stay trapped in here, so it's only a matter of time before you crash and burn by my paw."

"You think you're so clever, don't you? But what you fail to realize is that you're the only one of your kind, so there's nobody for me to fear, and therefore nobody that can set you free."

"You sure about that", I asked as I point my claw at the holes in the wall behind him. What he turned to see caused him to gasp. A purple aurora similar to that of the northern lights danced in the sky. The patrons were in awe as they forgot about the potential peril they were in to watch in wonder.

"That light, it's…it's…what is that? Tell me!"

"Just keep watching, Doc." Just then an orange counterpart to the light I created joined it in the sky.

"No, this cannot be!"

"Yes, it can", shouted Taiyo from a hidden location in the room. His booming voice echoed through the room, and the earth itself began to shake. As Doctor Light darted his gaze through the room in fear, two large hands made of sand shot out of the ground, breaking the tile floor in the process. The left hand dragged Doctor Light into the earth as if he had stepped into quicksand, and the right balled into a fist and punched his arm, freeing the young girl as she ran to her father. Once my opponent was buried up to his neck, the two sand hands flew through the air like dust in the wind and morphed into its source. From the shifting piles of flying sand, came the Elemental Prince of Earth and my third in command, Taiyo Sano. With a smirk on his face, a single rose grew and bloomed from his shoulder. He picked it and sharpened the stem to a point with his claws. He paused for a brief moment to act out his signature "James from Team Rocket" pose and threw it like a dart at one of the devices below the shield. It shorted out and exploded, destroying my prison. I landed on all fours and walked over to Taiyo's feet.

"This changes nothing", shouted Doctor Light. "I'm not through with you yet!" The light bulb symbol on his helmet began beeping faster and faster.

"Oh, shit", said Taiyo once we realized what it was. Another explosion sent us flying backwards into the electronic department. I landed on my back with an X-Box controller jamming into my shoulder. I leapt back onto my paws and let out another roar. Taiyo then joined me at my side. The large rhino stomped its hoof and let out a large snort. Doctor Light, now free from Taiyo's trap, stood before us with his arms crossed and his suit surging with power.

_My liege, the amount of electricity from his suit is off the charts. If this continues much longer he could put the entire city of Anchorage into the Dark Ages._

_I agree, we need to end this now. Quickly, Change into your Armored form so we can merge together._ I was not the only one of the Elementals that watched too much television. Having understood exactly what I told him, Taiyo and I prepared to Change. Poor Doctor Light didn't have a clue what was going on, the benefits of telepathy. He fired a blast of light at us, and with synchronized timing, we leapt high into the air into somersaults, which is quite impressive when you consider that one of us was a 5000-pound rhino at the time.

_Digi-Armor Energize_, we shouted, at least in our minds. Then Taiyo began.

_Rhiyomon armor-digivolve to…. Aardemon, the Wolf of Power!_

_Lobomon armor-digivolve to…. Gizamon, the Wolf of Faith!_ And with that the Change was complete. We landed from our somersaults as two new beasts. To my left was Aarde, a large wolf with tannish fur, with the exceptions of his mane, the patches around his eyes, and his nine tails, all of which were dark green, as well as his eyes, which were as orange as his aura. As for myself, Giza, I was an even larger black wolf with a large mane around my neck, longer claws, a large pair of bat-like wings on my back, and purple eyes. We were even stronger than we were before, and the best part was, we weren't done yet. Doctor Light, sensing a final clash in the works, begins charging for one final attack. Aarde and I took advantage of the situation and began to merge together. We began.

_Gizamon….Aardemon….DNA-digivolve to…. Gizaardemon!_ In this form we merged into another large black wolf, this time with almost demonic red eyes, rotting skin, unsightly flesh wounds, and several bones from our skeleton exposed to the elements. In other words, we were basically a zombie werewolf now. Just then, Doctor Light fired his blast at us. We made no effort to move out of the way. We blacked out as we were struck by his attack, but only for a moment. We awoke to the sound of Doctor Light laughing maniacally over the victory he thought he won. The look on his face was priceless as he watched us regenerating ourselves. All of our limbs, bones, organs, and fluids, flew through the air as they joined together once again to become Gizaarde.

"Now it's our turn", we said in a unified voice. We rose to our hind legs and charged at him.

"Wait, time out", shouted Doctor Light as he stood there frozen, perhaps, fatigued from his last attack. We drew our right paw back and tract our claws for our final attack.

_Venom Claw!_ I guess we have a thing for drama. We had him right where we wanted him. Just as our claws were about to swipe across his chest, I sensed something. Something was wrong, I just didn't know what. It was too late to stop ourselves from attacking him, and I dared not risk my friend's safety, so I forced us to separate. Using my aura, I pushed out Taiyo at the last minute just as Lobomon's claws connected with Doctor Light. My dark powers reacted to his power source and a white light filled the room. I blacked out once again.


	2. Lost in the Dark

When I came to I felt the sensation of falling. I was falling, but I couldn't see. It didn't take me long to realize my eyes were still closed. With a grunted effort I manage to get them open, and to my dismay I was indeed falling. I knew not how long I had been falling or from how far up, but at that point I was about half a mile above the water below. This didn't bother me much, I just needed some wings. Since nobody was around, I began aloud.

"Lobomon armor-digivolve to…. Giza — huh?" I was still in my Champion form as Lobomon. With a touch of worry I tried again. "Lobomon warp-digivolve to…." Nothing happened. Now I was starting to panic. Instead of bothering to try to Change again I tried using some of my other powers. I tried teleporting, nothing happened. I tried to levitate, nothing happened. I tried summoning the wind or the ocean below, still nothing happened. It was around this time that I was only a couple of hundred feet above the water, and I was no closer to surviving the fall. With no other options, I took a gamble. I took as big an inhale as I could, and then waited until I was at about 30 feet. I then exhaled as hard and fast as I could, and the resulting gust of wind slammed into the water with devastating force.

When I came to I was in the water and immediately darted towards the surface. The second my muzzle was out of the water, I gasped for air as if I hadn't breathed in months. My plan had worked, but at a price. Though my gust of wind softened my landing, it still took a toll on my body, specifically my torso thanks to the position I was in when I landed. And to make matters worse, that survival maneuver also required a lot of air to escape my body, so I was also fighting off fatigue and dizziness. In an attempt to focus on something other than my discomfort, I started to look around. I look to one horizon and noticed a large building in the shape of the letter "T". Where there were buildings, there must've been land, problem was that it was about a three-mile swim from my current position.

_Oh, great._ I started to doggy-paddle. I hadn't even made it past the first mile before I started to tire out. There had to be an easier way to get there. Eventually I came up with an idea via what I call a mimic moment. I shifted my body to where my back end and tail came up to the surface and my back legs were floating. Once that happened I used my front legs to paw at the water and propel myself forward. Essentially, what I was doing was imitating the way I once saw a polar bear swim at the Alaska Zoo. In an attempt to add _some _speed, I moved my tail in a serpent-like fashion in the hope of making this ordeal go by faster, for although this method of swimming was much less strenuous, it was more tedious and much slower. _Oh well, seeing as how I don't know where I am, I guess I'm not in too much of a hurry_. About an hour later I finally made it to the shore. Tired and sore, I collapse on my side and begin to pant excessively. _I could use a nap. Just a quick one, at least until I get my energy back._ I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

As I slept I eventually started to dream that I was back in Anchorage battling Doctor Light. Images of our fight played over an over again in my brain. _Where did this guy come from? Are there others like him? And what's happened to me? Why aren't my powers working? Is this the result of Doctor Light's suit?_ All these questions, but no answers. Then I noticed something. I sensed darkness, but not my own. I felt as if there was a dark soul nearby. Before I had time to think further about it, the rush of cold sea water ran over my body. The sudden shock of freezing water caused me to yelp as I shot awake on the sandy shore I swam to. After shaking water and sand out of my fur, I look up and notice the stars in the night sky. I had been asleep for the past several hours. Curious as to how I managed to sleep here for so long without anyone noticing, I look around. In the distance I notice another shore, the mainland. The island I swam to must've been privately owned. I look to my right and notice the "T"-shaped building from before. It stood in the center of the island, and the island itself acted as a giant hill, with the tower at the top. In my current form it was a quick jog away. Off further to the right, I notice the main road leading to the entrance of the tower. _Wonder who lives here,_ I thought as I rose to my hind legs. I tried to Change back to my human form, but just as my previous attempts did, it failed.

_Great, so not only can I not Change into my stronger forms, I cannot even return to my default form._ Until I could regain all of my powers back, I was stuck as a wolf. Fortunately, despite this, I was still able to speak human English, which sounded good at the time, until I stopped to think about it. As I began to walk to the main road, I found myself pondering whether it'd be less shocking to see a talking wolf on two legs instead of its usual four. "Maybe I oughtta play it safe and pretend to be a stray dog." I chuckled to myself at the thought of anyone being dumb enough to mistake me for a common dog, when suddenly a chilling wave ran through my body.

The fur along my spine stood up and though I did not intend them to, I could feel my yellow eyes turning purple. I could sense that dark presence again, and it was close by. I look towards my left and realize that this presence I was sensing was coming from the top of the tower. Something or someone was up there, and for some reason it was calling out to me. I turn back to the road and increased walking speed, but then I heard something. At first it was muffled, and then it sounded like beating, and it was. It was a heartbeat I was listening to, however the scary part was, it wasn't my own. The beats from my heart staggered whoever's heart I was listening to, and both heartbeats were going faster and faster by the second. This feeling was too strong to ignore, so I turn back to my left again and look towards the tower. I knew not how tall it was, other than to say it was tall enough to pass as a skyscraper. I did know that even with my limited power, it'd only take a few minutes for me to scale it from the outside. Upon deciding that, I leap forward and begin running on all fours. Ignoring the main road I cut straight through the rocky hill until I reached the right side of the tower.

It was fortunate that my original plan was to scale the tower, because there were no other doors or entrances on that side of the building. This didn't bother me because what I'd gone there for wasn't inside, it was on the roof. I leap as high as I can and dig my claws into the side of the building. I shuddered as the sounds of concrete and metal scraped against my claws.

_Let's get this over with._ I began climbing, which to me felt more like running vertically. I leapt continuously higher and higher, sinking my claws into the side of the building locking myself in position each time until finally I reached underneath the right platform that forms the top of the letter "T". "Shit!" I hadn't thought this part of my plan through. With my dark powers on the fritz, I couldn't be sure that I could scale underneath the platform long enough to make my way to the edge and continue upward. I looked down and froze at the sight of how long of a drop was underneath me. Jumping was out of the question. Though it was possible for me to survive, I wouldn't be able to heal in my current condition, and the resulting crash into the ground would surely draw attention to me, most likely unwanted. My only choice was to slowly climb back down, but before I could I was ambushed.

A dark portal opened across from my chest and a large hand made up of dark energy shot out at me. I swung my right paw and clawed at it, only to have my claws slip right through it. I should've known that brute force would be useless against it, and without my magic or psychic powers I was a sitting duck. The hand took advantage of my miscalculation and wrapped its fingers around me. The hand itself was large enough to engulf nearly my entire body. All that was exposed were my head and left arm. I didn't bother to fight it at that point, nor did I try to howl or scream, seemed pointless. I accepted that I had been attacked by this dark force, and upon reflection, it serves me right. I had just trespassed on private property and scaled a skyscraper all in an attempt to locate the source of a dark presence while at the same time, having no dark powers of my own to protect myself. I let out a frustrated sigh as I'm pulled into the portal.

The darkness I saw inside was expected, a large empty void of eternal blackness. However it didn't last very long. I found myself moments later being hurled into the air. Another portal had opened and I was tossed through it. The hand threw me into a position that if I were an ordinary dog I would've landed on my back. However, since I wasn't, with a snarl and a flick of my tail I did half of a somersault and landed on my four paws. Once my landing was secured I looked around to check my bearings. The night sky was still black and decorated with stars, and I was still high above the ground as I was before the first portal had opened. In fact I was higher. I was standing on the roof of the tower, right at the edge that I had planned to scale. I look to my left and notice a concrete basketball/volleyball court in the center of the platforms. Also in the center of the platforms, towards the left of my view and facing towards the front entrance of the tower, was a doorway leading to what I assumed were the stairs and/or elevator. As I cautiously walked towards the door pondering whether or not to enter, I sensed a familiar darkness. They were there. Whatever or whoever I was sensing before, was there.

I instinctively started to growl as I knew not whether this presence was evil or just dark like me. As if on cue, the one I had been seeking appeared. A third portal opened on the ground in the center of the basketball court, and from it emerged what appeared to be a very large bird, which like the hand was made up of dark energy. What the bird was looked familiar, but for some reason I couldn't think of what it was. Before I had time to think about it further, the bird morphed in a manner similar to how Taiyo had morphed from the sand earlier that day. From the darkness emerged what appeared to be a dark blue cloak. Its head, or rather its hood was pulled up and facing down. It levitated above the ground and there was no sign or exposure of any kind of persona within the cloak so it took me by surprise when a large gust of wind passed over the tower and revealed the image of a young woman under the cloak.

As the bottom of the cloak danced in the wind, her legs were exposed. She wore no pants, but instead what appeared to be a black leotard. Her boots were as blue as her cloak, and her skin was a palish gray. Her legs themselves were beautifully toned and bore the looks of a fighter. She lifted her head and spread out her arms to her sides, which in turn revealed more of herself thanks to the wind. The leotard she wore had long black sleeves and was skintight. On her hips rested a belt that, based on how loosely it rested, I assumed tied in the back. It consisted of several black and red jewels, each set in circular gold plates. The cloak itself was held together by another of her black and red jewels, again set in a gold plate. And finally there was her face. Through the darkness provided by the hood, only the bottom half of her face was clearly visible, at least without the use of my extensive werewolf vision. Her face, neck, and lips were all a pale shade of gray, unblemished and smooth. And the only visible parts of the top half of her face were her eyes, painted with a violet color similar to that of my aura.

Having revealed herself and making her presence known she returns both of her feet on the ground. Once there she squints her eyes at me as if suspicious, so I return a similar stare. She then surrounds herself with her aura, which was as black as the night itself. Though I knew my powers were failing me up until then, I instinctively attempted to focus my energy as if I could make my aura visible. Much to my surprise when my body became encased in my purple aura, though I didn't need her to know that, so I just went with it.

After we had finished sizing each other up, I rose to my hind legs so that I could look at her from a different angle. In response to this, we both started to walk towards each other, slowly and cautiously. As we walked I began hearing that unknown heartbeat again, and it was then I realized that it was her heart I was hearing. Like before, our heartbeats staggered one another and were slowly beating faster and faster by the second, and if things weren't intense enough, our slow walk towards one another was turning into a game of chicken. We were walking straight at each other, my eyes locked on hers, but both of us refused to break. As if to say, "challenge accepted", I growl softly and pick up my speed slightly. Her eyes squinted further as she mirrored my action. I had to admit, for having just met her and having never even spoken to her, I was impressed. Though she was not the first person I've met with a dark heart like mine, never before have I met a soul who's darkness was so intriguing, to the point where I immediately sensed a rivalry between her darkness and mine. As I moved closer and closer to her, something strange came over me. Just as my ability to make my aura visible returned to me unpredictably, I could feel fragments of my damaged powers returning to me. I knew not whether she did this out of her own will, or that this was the result of me being exposed to her darkness, but either way, it was her doing. Feeling grateful to my new rival I adjust my walking path slightly and begin to walk to my left as if to circle her. As I do, I Change back to my human form, bowing as I did so. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing this, and with a raised eyebrow, she began to circle as well.

We circled for what felt like hours, never once speaking or breaking eye contact. Her eyes acted as a window into her heart. In her eyes I saw more than simply darkness. I saw a small flame, as if to suggest that there was great power locked within her that separated that small flame from a raging inferno. I saw something else there as well. At the time, I had no idea what it was that I was seeing, but it was dangerous, yet still, I was intrigued. Eventually our little standoff was broken again, this time by her. As she continued to circle, she lifted her right hand loosely and surrounded it with aura. Sensing a pattern between us since we had met, I mirrored her action. Our hands never touched, but our auras couldn't be separated. They sparked and danced with each other from our hands. This catches us both off guard as we both stop in our places and turn towards each other, only just now breaking eye contact as we were now focused on our hands and the dark energies being radiated from them.

The auras from our bodies temporarily leave us and hover above our heads. From there they took forms of their own. Mine morphed into the image of a wolf, and as for hers, the bird from before reappeared. The wolf howled as the bird took its perch on its head. A white light appeared on the top of the wolf's head and under the bird's feet, causing both of us to simultaneously break eye contact yet again as the light began glowing brighter and brighter. Blinded by the light, our hands broke connection and the energy from both of our auras sparked across the rooftop, destroying a chunk of the concrete from the ground where I originally was standing, and one of the basketball hoops. As that happened, the jewel under the hood of her cloak began to blink and sound some form of an alarm. Though a naked human eye couldn't tell, the light underneath the jewel revealed to be a red letter "T". I then heard the doorway that was now behind me open and from that followed an angry voice.

"Get away from her", she shouted. Before I could even turn around I saw a green light and felt the sting of an energy blast. I shout in pain as I am flung towards the cloaked girl's direction expecting a teamed counterattack, but instead she simply teleported out of the way. I flip in midair and land on my back, but quickly use the force of my landing as an advantage as I "bounce" off my back and land on my feet. I quickly turn to face my opponent just in time to catch a glimpse of a girl with orange skin, and red hair before her second star bolt struck me. A Tamaranian. The second blast knocks me off the tower.

_Blindimon armor-digivolve to…._


	3. Meet the Titans

_…. Gizamon, the Wolf of Faith!_ Once again in my armored form, I fly back to the top of the tower for my chance at payback. Expecting her to blast me the second I reveal myself I pick up ascending speed, and I was correct. A third star bolt just barely missed my tail as I flew over it. I circle around and hover over the rooftop in case I get shot down. The enraged Tamaranian's eyes burned a light green, and her power surged through her hands, preparing for another attack. She then ascends so that she can meet me face-to-face.

"You have the nerve of Earth's mule of jacks for you to have come here", said the Tamaranian in a surprisingly straight voice.

"Very good, Princess. That almost sounded like an actual insult", I said sarcastically as I clapped my paws together.

"You are most unwelcome here! Leave this place at once!"

"You nearly destroy my home as a child, and when I meet you again years later, you kickoff our reunion by blasting me before I can even get a word in. Not to mention the fact that last time I checked your people were called "Tamaranians" for a reason. If anything, I should be asking you to leave."

"How dare you blame me for the destruction of your home? It was your own manipulative ways that led to your town's downfall, and sent my sister down a path of darkness that you influenced on her."

"Oh, yes, Blackfire. I remember her quite well."

"Then you must also remember that she changed that day because of you."

"Really? And what pre-tell was it that I did?"

"Do not play coy with me, Dark Prince! I was only a child at the time, but I remember full well what you did to her! You filled her head with dreams that ended up being lies! You manipulated her mind and poisoned her soul! You sent her down a violent path that my people look down upon and now the sister I knew is gone, all because she was burned by the blackness in your heart! That is to assume you have one at all!"

"My princess, the problem with your little theory is that it happened six years ago. We were all mere children back then. We all have made dumb mistakes between then and now, and based on the fact that not only do you have yet to control your impulsive behavior, but you've also held this grudge and resentment for me all of these years over this little misunderstanding, makes it quite clear to me that you haven't changed at all since your childhood, so forgive me if I find it hard to believe that one squabble with me corrupted your sister for life. And I say to you now like I did back then, I didn't do a thing to your sister, and even if I did, it doesn't justify the rogue actions you took when you decided to burn my entire school district to the ground."

"As I recall _I_ am not responsible for the destruction of your blackened hills."

"And as _I_ recall, I wasn't anywhere near your sister for the past six years, which is interesting considering I apparently corrupted her all this time."

"I cannot undo what you have done to my sister, but I can honor her memory by ridding this planet of your darkness", she said as her power started to radiate all over her body as if it was an aura.

"Just try it." I immediately followed my threat with a roar. The Tamaranian screamed as she fired another star bolt. In response, I cloaked my right wing with my dark energy and used it in a matter similar to that of a baseball glove and caught the blast. Her stunned look was priceless. "Batter up", I said as I hurled it back at her. She dodged it with ease, fortunately I anticipated that. _Shadow Ball!_ I concentrated my darkness into my own kind of star bolt and blasted her with it. While she was stunned I tackled her and pinned her to the ground. Her eyes glowed brighter as she tried to zap me with them, but I prevented her from doing so using my aura to conceal hers. She wiggled in discomfort under my paws, trying desperately to free herself.

"Do you not wish to end my existence here and now", she asked sarcastically as if she was in any position to be so bold. I had a comeback waiting for her before I was interrupted by another voice.

"Titans, go", he shouted. I look up to see who the voice belonged to when a green ram headbutted my left flank. I'm tossed back a few feet before I pick myself off the ground. The ram came at me again with another attack, so I quickly rose to my hind legs and grabbed it by the horns. It struggled to free itself but couldn't, nor could it out-muscle me. I had it pinned, but then the craziest thing happened. It morphed itself into a green kangaroo and kicked me square in the jaw. It then retreated to the Tamaranian's side before I could retaliate. I had to admit, it was a well-thought out counterattack. I complimented my green opponent in a way it could understand no matter what animal it morphed into.

"_Huh, nice one."_ The kangaroo paused for a moment to look back at me to make sure it heard me right. It was at that moment I heard the hum of a weapon. Then it fired, and the blue blast of energy it created was rushing at me. _Confusion_, I thought to myself as I used my psychic powers to sent the blast back to where it came from. Its source, which turned out to be half-man and half-machine screamed as it flew back a few feet crashing into the doorway. It was then that the mystery voice spoke again.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The top half of his uniform was red with green sleeves, green gloves, and a yellow letter "R" on the left side of his chest. He had one hand by his yellow utility belt, prepped for attack, and his pants were green to match his sleeves and gloves. He wore a black masquerade-like mask with white-out eye holes, and on his back was a cape that was black on top and yellow on the bottom. I recognized immediately who it was that was speaking to me, the infamous boy wonder known only as Robin.

"He's a werewolf, who doubles as both this dark prince and apparently Starfire's childhood rival", said the cloaked girl in a monotoned voice. In all the chaos, I forgot she was standing there.

"So did you come here to seek revenge", asked Robin. I admired his straight-to-the-point attitude despite everything that had happened up to that point.

"Please, I didn't even know who lived here, let alone that Starfire lived here."

"Then why did you come?"

"You might say I'm new to town, sort of "dropped in". What town is this anyway? I highly doubt this is Gotham City."

"You're in Jump City. California."

"Not too far from home I suppose. And what brings you here, Robin?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I had a little mishap with a villain back home and wound up just off the coast. I came here because….", I hesitated as I looked at the cloaked girl from the corner of my eye. She had hardly said a word or moved at all since Starfire's squabble with me. Though I had no reason to believe she wanted our meeting to be secret, I somehow felt obligated to keep the real reason for my unexpected visit to myself, at least for the moment. "….because I needed to get my bearings. I washed up on this island believing it to be the mainland. When I found out it wasn't I climbed up here for a better look, and wound up running into these two ladies."

"More like corrupting my friend, just as you did my sister!"

"Starfire, I only met you the once and had no idea that I would run into you here of all places. In fact the only reason I ran into you at all was because of a little mishap with my powers", I said as I pointed to the damage me and the cloaked girl's magic caused. The cyborg was the next to speak.

"My hoops! Look what you did to my hoops", he shouted as his right arm turned into a cannon, which I assumed was what he had tried to blast me with earlier. "Oh, it's on now!" I growl softly in response to this.

"Hold on a minute", said Robin as he waved off his metal friend. "What exactly happened up here?"

"His dark powers are active, but weakened", said the cloaked girl, now rejoining her friends across from me. "By the way, you boys certainly took your sweet time, didn't you?"

"We would've gotten here faster if _somebody_ hadn't tampered with the alarm systems earlier", shouted the metal man as he scolded the kangaroo. The green animal morphed into its true form.

"I was just trying to find out if there was a snooze button, that's all", said the green boy with fangs, pointed ears, and an all purple attire complete with shoes that had designs of animal pawprints underneath.

"It's an alarm _system_, not an alarm _clock_! What were you thinking in that empty, green head of yours?"

"I was _thinking_ that maybe the alarm system could be a bit quieter! Is that a problem?"

"A problem? Quieter?" This argument went on for a few minutes before the cloaked girl intervened.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she shouted as her powers gained temporary control of their hands as they levitated upwards to slap themselves. The two combatants were awkwardly stunned upon realizing what had just happened. "Much better", she said returning back to her monotoned voice. Robin began again.

"What caused your powers to fail you?" I could've told them that it was the result of my dark powers mixing with their teammate's dark powers, but as I said before, I was keeping that to myself for now. Besides, seeing as how he had technically already damaged my powers prior to that incident, I found it easier to blame it on my last opponent.

"Some boob who calls himself Doctor Light."

"Doctor Light sent you here?"

"You all know him?" The cyborg spoke again.

"He's been causing trouble around here for quite some time."

"How long are we talking here?"

"Well let's see, today's Thursday, so um, always", said the green boy with a cheeky grin.

"Actually, it's more like Friday", said the cyborg as he checked what I assumed was a clock he was looking at on his arm.

"Dude, whatever", replied the green boy in response to his metal friend being a smart aleck.

"What happened", asked Robin pulling us back on topic.

"He tried stealing my powers in the hopes of converting them into an energy source in order to power himself up. Me and an associate of mine defeated him, at least I hope we did", I said hesitantly as I had just realized that I didn't know what happened to either Taiyo or Doctor Light. I continued, "his suit reacted to my powers and exploded. My theory is that we unintentionally opened a wormhole, which brought me here."

"That much exposure to raw energy should've killed you. You okay", asked the metal man.

"I'll be fine. It won't be long now until my powers are back up to par, and until then I might as well enjoy the sunny beaches of Cali for a bit", I said as I stretched out my wings preparing for my departure. I flapped my wings enough to hover in the air above the rooftop. "It was _ever_ so lovely to see you again, Starfire." Starfire huffed in annoyance. "And it was a pleasure to meet you all as well, Robin, Cyborg, Beast, and you as well Raven." _Especially you_, I said telepathically to her as I winked "goodbye" before flying away. I heard of little of their comments before I was out of earshot.

"Huh, "Beast". I kinda like it, what do you think, Cy?"

"What do I think? I'm thinking I wanna know how he knows us."

"Well he already met Star, everybody knows Robin, and dude, I hate to break this to you, but you're a cyborg."

"No, you really think so?"

"Don't start, you two. It's too early", said Robin in a scolding manner as the sun began to rise. The inevitable argument started as expected, but I managed to overhear Raven mumbling to herself just before I had flown too far away to hear.

"But if that's true, then how did he know _my _name? I mean I would've sensed it if he read my mind. Who is he?"


	4. Don't Play with Snakes

12:00 noon in Jump City, and so far I had accomplished nothing productive. That was probably because my mind wouldn't shut up. Ever since my awkward and painful greeting with Raven and her friends, I'd been pacing back and forth in an abandoned warehouse thinking. First there was Doctor Light, a villain from Jump City who traveled all the way to Anchorage just to obtain my powers. Even for a villain that seemed odd.

_Was there really no other way to get this "ultimate power" he seeks? And why target me? From what I could tell Raven's powers alone rivals mine, and from what I've gathered they're recurring enemies from the same town. What, am I a weaker target? Oh, my God, did I just say that? Next time I see that doctor he'd better watch his back, 'cause I'm gonna be chewing on it._

_And then there's Starfire. She's held this grudge for six years against me. How long has she been living here on Earth? Is she after my brother, too? And what of the people on her home planet? And what happened to Blackfire? I couldn't have corrupted her, could I?_

_And finally, Raven. What's her story? What makes her tick? Wait a second, why do I care? Why am I concerned about who she is? I mean it's not like she brought me here, she didn't attack me, and she's not the one who drained my powers. I'm not here for her, I'm here because….. oh, shit! I forgot!_ It was then I had realized that after all that time I had failed to contact anybody back home since my battle with Doctor Light. Upon realizing this I summoned my aura and tried to light up the sky with my aurora just as I did to summon Taiyo before, but nothing happened. My powers were still damaged from the battle, and lighting the sky was apparently out of the question at that point in time. With no way of calling the other Elementals from across the globe, I would have to settle for just dialing home. I quickly Changed back to my human form and ran out of the warehouse to find the nearest payphone.

It took about 30 minutes for me to find a payphone. All that time I spent just thinking, I should've spent on getting to know the city. I walked to the phone and looked down at the coin slots. It charged $0.75 for a single call, and it was safe to assume there was a time limit. I checked my wallet in my back pocket. Nothing but a $5 bill. I checked my other pockets to see if I had any spare change.

_Let's see here, gum, some pocket lint, Mallory's…._ I paused at the sight of Mallory's blindfold. I had been holding onto it for so long I would've thought I'd moved on by now. Apparently I didn't. I shook my head as if to snap myself out of a trance and continued. _More lint, wadded up gum wrappers, and three pennies, lovely._ The payphone didn't accept $5 bills so now I had to go get change. Fortunately, there was a pizza joint across the street from the payphone.

The streets had very little traffic, so when the street had cleared I started to jaywalk. With no cars around, and no detection of any nearby cars, it felt safe to walk across. About halfway across I heard the revving of an engine, but the sound came from what appeared to be about three blocks away. I pick up the pace a little bit, not that I felt I needed to, there was no way they would be able to drive three blocks before I walked to the other side. I was wrong. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of red, and my nose caught a whiff of something smelling of ash. And then I blacked out.

When I came to I was on my back, lying on top of something lumpy and made of plastic. I try to lean forward, but my abdomen had other ideas. It screamed in discomfort, causing me to fall back to my original position. Whatever it was that hit me did quite a number on me. I shifted my position to try to roll over and something snagged on my belt and ripped. I immediately felt something wet on my thighs, and the smell that followed was gnarly. Having no idea what it was I was kneeling in I shoot up to stand and hit my head on something metal. I rub my head in an attempt to reduce the pain with one hand, while I search through the dark with the other. My body was weak, and I was back in human form so I couldn't see in the dark and my eyes had not yet adjusted. Plus that blow to the head didn't help matters much either. With my free hand extended I felt more metal, this time it was a wall. I take my other hand from my head and reach again. Another metal wall. I move one hand along the wall and I step in something else. This time it was my left knee, and what I stepped in smelt like rotten eggs. Considering I was already covered in filth, in an act of bravery I took my right index and middle fingers and rubbed some of the substance off of my knee and held it to my nose. I did step in some rotten eggs. At this point I knew exactly where I was, and I was ticked off. I reached for my back pocket, and just as I expected, my wallet was missing, which only ticked me off even more. I tucked in my right shoulder and rammed the wall to my right. The rusty dumpster creaked as I did so. I rammed it again, same result. The dumpster was absorbing the blows I was inflicting to it, and it showed no signs of capsizing.

_After being blasted, electrocuted, tackled, kicked, and almost drowning, I refuse to lose to a frigging dumpster!_ I punched the dumpster wall. It left a dent, and the dumpster creaked again, but this time the sound came from above, towards the opening. When that happened I improvised an idea. I punched at the wall repeatedly, making the dents bigger and deeper each time. Eventually I punched the wall enough to make a small crack in the opening above. When the crack was big enough, I Changed my hands into paws and slipped them through it, pried open the dumpster, and stuck my head out. I looked around to see that the dumpster had a metal pipe over the top of it to act as a lock, and from there I looked down to see the damage I made to the wall from the outside. _That looks like enough damage for one day_, I thought as I Changed yet again, this time I thought smaller. I could feel my brown eyes turning green as I underwent the Change from human to serpent. Slowly as I Changed, I slithered my way across the top of the dumpster and down one of the undamaged walls. I shivered as the cold, and extremely rusty metal scraped against my black scales. Once that unpleasantness was over I started my way out of the alley when I heard voices.

"_Check it out, guys. Got stuck in a dumpster."_ His comment was followed by the snickering of two others. I didn't even need to look to see where the voices were coming from. Although I was a snake, I could still hear quite well. They were standing on the fire escape right above me, and the scent that my tongue picked up as I flicked it told me that they were rats. I ignored their comments and continued my way to the end of the alley. I paused for a moment when the talker of the group spoke again. _"Fellas, I'm telling' ya, that has got to be the biggest earthworm I've ever seen."_ More laughter followed. I was already ticked off. I had been mugged and thrown in a dumpster, I'd been ambushed several times within the past 48 hours, and on top of all of that, I'd been called a dog while in my wolf form, so the last thing I was willing to tolerate was being called a worm while in my snake form by a pack of rats. Plus, now that I was thinking about it, I hadn't eaten in a while, and it'd been even longer since I'd hunted. I rattled my tail as a warning. _"Oh ho ho, I think he's getting mad. Whatcha gonna do, about it? We're up here, and you're down there."_ I lifted my head and turned to face them. _"What, did I hurt your feelings? You got something to say, Wormy?"_

"_Two thingssss. One, if you ratssss had any ssssensssse, you would've sssseen that I can become sssseveral animalssss. And two, I'm in the mood for a ssssnack._ The rats looked at one another with slightly worried looks. With lightning speed and werewolf strength I swung my tail and struck the wall that the fire escape was built on. The wall cracked a little bit as I did so and the fire escape shook, causing one of the rats to lose his balance and fall off the railing. And much to my delight, it was the one that talked too much for his own good. Giving him no chance to hit the ground first, I leapt into the air and sunk my fangs into his neck while simultaneously wrapping my body around him. I could hear his two friends scampering away up the fire escape as I hit the ground with my prey still in my grasp. I hungrily watched him below me as he struggled to free himself, but only tightening my grip as he did so. To add insult to injury, I became curious about what he was thinking. _"Penny for your thoughtssss"_, I asked as if I expected him to respond, which I didn't. I could feel my eyes turning purple as I entered the rat's mind.

Just then I was pinned to the ground and above me was a giant rattlesnake with black scales and purple eyes. I couldn't move and I couldn't breathe. It was then that I heard another heartbeat which once again wasn't my own. It wasn't Raven's either, it was the rat's. His thoughts echoed through my head as if I were listening to music.

_Help! Somebody help me! I don't wanna die! I'm scared! Monster!_ That last comment, "monster", made me pause for a moment to reflect. I was about to kill this rat, why? Was it simply because I was hungry and needed to hunt? Or was it to get revenge? Or was it both? Any one of the rats could've fallen, but the one that insulted me did, and I enjoyed the fact that he did.

Being an animagus, that is a mutant with the power to turn into animals, I was both blessed and cursed with the best of both worlds. I had the knowledge and ability to live in both the animal and human worlds as freely as I chose, and sometimes living between both worlds creates inner conflicts. For an animal to kill, it's a way of life. It's just how the world worked. For a human to kill, it was a matter of good versus evil. However, I was neither an animal nor a human, but a mutant living among both. Plus I was the Prince of Darkness, gifted with dark powers that have been associated with evil over thousands of years.

_I'm not truly evil, am I_, I thought as I looked up at myself through the rat's eyes. It was then I noticed a seagull. It had made its perch on the same fire escape and thought nothing of the squabble that was happening down below, in fact she pretty much ignored us. As I looked up at her, I remembered why it was that people like me hunted and what our role in this world is. I also remembered something my father once told me, about the difference between killing and murder. He would always tell me, "fear not the fact that one kills, fear the reasons why he kills". It made no difference whether I chose to eat the rat or the seagull, I was hunting because I needed to eat. Regardless of who my prey is, the "law of the jungle" as I call it would've called me to kill an innocent soul. I was hunting to eat and survive, not for pleasure.

I must've loosened my grip on the rat during my inner monologing because at one point he managed to muster up enough strength to bite me. I hissed in shock and immediately tightened my grip once again.

_I jusssst remembered why I shouldn't play with my food, makessss it harder to eat_, I thought as I broke the rat's spine in half. Once he had gone limp I swallowed him whole. To avoid having to slither around with a giant lump in my stomach, I Changed back into my human form and continued to the end of the alley.

"As far as he was concerned", I began as I patted my stomach indicating the meal I had just consumed. "I am a killer….today."


	5. Best of a Bad Day

With lunch out of the way, I emerged out of the alley back onto the side of the street I was originally on before the ambush. The bright sunlight blinded me temporarily as I squinted my eyes and tried to shield them with my hand. I wound up bumping into a blonde woman about my age as I stumbled around.

"Uh, rudeness", she said with a condescending, but very comically high-pitched voice.

_Uh, cliche_, I thought in response as she reminded of literally every beach-blonde Barbie stereotype ever made with those two words alone. She continued past me to my left and kept walking. I overheard her mention something about my stench under her breath as she walked away, but I didn't care, it was the least of my concerns at the moment. I turned right and walked to the next block, back to where the payphone was.

I walked back to the payphone and searched it to see if it had any kind of camera on it. It didn't. From there I turned around and just looked. There had to have been something that saw who or what attacked me. At that moment I looked at a light post across the street, and saw a small security camera behind the glass and next to the bulb.

_Lycanthropy has done wonders with my eyesight_, I chuckled to myself. Just as I was beginning to cross the street again, I thought, _seeing as how this didn't work so well last time, I'll just take the crosswalk._ I walk to my left a few feet to the corner and join the crowd of people waiting for the traffic light to turn red so that they could walk across.

While I waited, I heard whispers and saw discrete looks of disgust from the crowd. The comments were either about my appearance, my stench, or both. Without giving them the satisfaction of pointing my head downward to look at myself, I used my powers to read a nearby man's mind and saw myself through his eyes.

I could see why I was getting so much crap, I was a mess. My white Classic shirt, that is my white t-shirt with the word "classic" written across the top in black letters with pictures of mainstream media references from the 90's underneath, was ruined. I had a huge blood stain across my stomach, which would explain why my abdomen was hurting earlier, and holes in both of my sleeves. And to make matters worse, whoever mugged me thought they were cute and scratched off the letters "L", "I", and both "C"s from the word "classic", so now it just said "ass". My blue jeans were also full of holes, and I had two wet spots on them, one on my right thigh and the other on my left knee, from when I was rolling around in the garbage. My face had a couple of scratches on it, my knuckles were bleeding a little bit from punching the dumpster, and because I was sleeping, my mini afro was pushed flat on two sides, making me look like a wannabe black Frankenstein.

_Jesus, how long was I out?_ I exit the man's mind and raise my right wrist. _God dammit_, I thought to myself upon realizing that the mugger took my watch as well. I reach for my other back pocket for my afro pick. I pull it out to discover that six of the ten teeth had broken off, and almost all of them were now missing. _Well, today just gets better and better, don't it?_

Finally the light turned red, and the walking light turned on. More commentary from the crowd as I weaved my way in and out trying to cross as quickly as possible. Once I had crossed I break away from the crowd and lean against a nearby building for a moment to roll up my pant legs. It didn't at all help with my cleanliness problem, but I needed to air out my legs after rolling around in a dumpster for who knows how long.

While I was rolling up my pant legs, the passing patrons were all too gracious with their comments as I continued to hear mumbling and disgust about my stench and appearance. Once I had finished airing out my legs and thought I had heard the worst of the insults, the light turns green and traffic continues. It was then a sports car with college students in it thought it'd be funny to throw trash at me. One threw an empty beer bottle at my feet, giving me another cut on my leg when the glass broke, while another threw a half drunken milkshake at my head. With strawberry ice cream in my hair and glass under my feet, a third college student yelled out as they drove away.

"You could use a bath, you hobo!"

I shake my head as if I was in wolf form as I think to myself, _once I catch the guy who mugged me, you three are next._ Angry and irritated, I Change to my wolf form, much to many people's surprise. I continue walking towards the light post, snapping and barking at anyone that got in my way. I wasn't in a good mood. Once there, I leap up and start climbing to the top. It didn't matter who saw me and who didn't at that point, I didn't care. Once at the top, I use my claws to try to pry off the glass, with my tail underneath to catch it before it hits the ground. This task proved to be more difficult than I had hoped. "Remind me again why I'm doing this when I could just break the glass."

"_Because it's the right thing to do"_, asked the green bat as it flew in my face out of nowhere. Shocked and surprised I accidentally rip the glass from the light post and it falls to the ground below.

It had just missed a guy on a bike as he shouts, "hey! Watch it!" I grab the bat with my left paw while hanging from my right.

"_Look what you made me do, Beast Boy!"_

"_Beast Boy! You said it right this time!"_ Turns out his name _was_ Beast Boy, or at least it's what he went by. I guess I got lucky.

"_What do you want?"_

"_Well we saw you climbing the light post so I came to see what's up"_, said Beast Boy as he motioned towards the roof of the pizza joint I passed on the way here. There at a table next to the railing sat Cyborg, Starfire, Robin, and Raven respectively. Raven had her hood down. Her short hair was the same color as her violet eyes, and she had a diamond-shaped bindi on her forehead that was red with a black outline. She looked at me with the same intensity as when we first met earlier.

_Wow, she's….kinda cute, actually. Oh God, how long has she been watching me from up there?_

"_Um, dude? You in there? Are you blushing?"_ I squeezed the bat tighter in my paw.

"_I don't blush"_, I said defensively as I tossed the bat. He then resumed hovering on his own as he flew back over to me. Using my tail, I hung upside down to get a better look at the camera. The curious and nosey Beast Boy mirrored my action.

"_So uh, whatcha doin'?"_

"_I need the footage from this camera"_, I said in an annoyed voice.

"_Why?"_

"_None of your business."_ I was getting more annoyed.

"_Don't you mean, "none of my beeswax""_, asked Beast Boy as he morphed from a bat to a bee. I glare at him with as sarcastic a look as possible for him having made a terrible pun. I look up/down at him as he flies to the top of the light post. _"Oh, come on, dude! Can't you take a croak"_, he asks again as he morphs into a toad.

"_Do you have to work at being this annoying, or does it just come naturally?"_

"_Hahaha, good one! Hahaha…hey! For your information, my jokes are funny. Even Raven thinks so."_ I adjust my head back to right-side up to see his four friends at the pizza table. Robin and Cyborg were debating something about combat practices while Starfire eagerly listened with fascination. Raven on the other hand, still with her intense monotoned look on her face, was off in her own world. As a daydreamer myself, I tended to space out a lot.

_Huh, I wonder if that's what I look like when that happens._ I look back up at the green toad. _"Yeah, forgive me if I don't believe you on that one."_ A sarcastic look as if to say, "everybody's a critic" appeared on his face as he expanded his throat, at least I think it's the throat that expands when toads croak.

"_Geez, you and Raven oughtta hook up. You two you are meant for each other."_ Something about that sentence threw me off-guard because my tail lost its grip and I fell. I managed to catch myself by levitating via aura. I then Changed back into a rattlesnake and slithered back up the light post. _"Dude, are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine. Now if you'll excusssse me…."_, I said as I motioned him to move out of the way.

"_Oh, sorry"_, said the toad as it then morphed into a hummingbird. _"By the way, dude. From one beast to another, you really stink."_ I pause for a moment and glare back at him. _"Shutting up now", _said Beast Boy as he tucked his head into his body. I went back to work on detaching the camera from the light post, but I should've known the silence wouldn't last long._ "Whoa, dude. What happened here"_, asked Beast Boy as he poked at the bulge in my body with his beak.

"_He _wassss _my lunch."_

"_Your what"_, asked Beast Boy in a shocked voice. For comedic effect he morphed into a possum and played dead by hanging from his tail.

"_What'ssss the big deal? You've probably hunted before haven't you?"_ He swung from his tail and sat back on top of the light post in his human form, if you can call it that.

"No, I'm a vegetarian! I've probably been whatever it is you've eaten", he continued as he poked the rat I swallowed. I spoke back to him in my normal voice since he was no longer in animal form.

"I bet you're fun company to have dinner with", I said sarcastically.

"Tell me about it", chimed Cyborg from down below having now joined us at the light post. "Everything is Tofu with this kid".

"Excuse me for being against cannibalism", shouted Beast Boy in response.

"You're not a pig, B. You just have the power to turn into one, that's all", said Cyborg with a cheeky grin.

"Gee, thanks. That made all the difference." I chuckled a little at their ammusing argument.

"Anything I can help with", asked Cyborg.

"You think you can detach thissss camera? I'm trying not to break it."

"No prob. Hey, Raven! If you would be so kind…", yelled Cyborg as he pointed to the light post. She stood up and waved her hand as it was soon surrounded in aura and her eyes glowed white. The light post itself soon became covered in her black aura as it was ripped out of the ground and flipped upside down, causing both me and Beast Boy to lose our grip. He morphed into a hawk and caught me in his talons before hovering over Cyborg. I looked up at him.

"_Don't you even think about it"_, said I, the snake in the talons of a hawk.

"_Calm down. I'm a vegetarian, remember?"_ Cyborg went right to work detaching the camera while Raven focused on keeping the upside down light post afloat. A few seconds of whizzing and buzzing noises coming from his Swiss Army fingers, and the camera was free.

"Thanks, Rae", said Cyborg as she returned the light post to its original position. "Now tell me exactly why you this again", said Cyborg to me now. I teleported from the hawk's talons and Changed back into human form in front of him.

"In case it wasn't obvious, I was jumped", I said as I held out my arms for effect. "And I believe whoever did it might've been caught on tape."

"You mean that's not the newest trend", asked Raven sarcastically out of seemingly nowhere. As she said that, another portal appeared on the ground and she rose out of it, now joining us. Seeing her look at me the way I currently was made me nervous.

_What's wrong with me? Why am I nervous?_

"While Cyborg decodes the data, you could use a shower." Beast Boy morphs back to his human form to chime in on the conversation.

"I second that. I haven't smelt anything that bad since we invented Stankball", said Beast Boy with a cheeky grin as he plugged his nose for comedic effect. I snarled at him in response and he morphed into a rooster, again, for comedic effect.

"Do I even want to know what Stankball is", I asked to Raven.

"Believe me when I say that I'm still wishing that I never found out what — achoo", she sneezed interrupting herself.

"Bless you", I said as I encased Beast Boy in a forcefield made from my aura.

"Thank you", said Raven as she cleared her throat. She looked at Beast Boy as he clucked in a panic inside my forcefield, and a tiny smile appeared on her face, which in turn caused me to smile a little, too. She caught me staring at her smile and started blushing a little bit. Fortunately, before things got too awkward, Robin and Starfire pulled up in a car designed with a paint job inspired by their friend, Cyborg.

"I know you are not, driving my baby", exclaimed Cyborg to Robin as he rushed over to the car. Beast Boy then morphed back to his human form so I released him from my aura.

"Very funny, dude", said Beast Boy sarcastically as he walked past us while dusting himself off. Raven then goes on to slap him upside the head as he passes. "Ow", he exclaims as he rushes to the car quicker.

"Is that all it takes to shut him up?"

"If it doesn't, it's fun to try." I chuckled a little at her joke. "How did you know", she asked in reference to my assuming that she was allergic to chicken feathers.

"Lucky guess. Took a shot in the dark, turns out I was correct." The tiny smile she had before returned for an encore.

"Can you still fly? Cyborg's pretty territorial about the T-Car."

"I'll manage. Meet you at the tower." She then turns around and walks to her group which consisted of the boys arguing about who gets to drive and who gets to ride shotgun. Once the argument was settled I prepared to Change. "Interesting way to start a Friday", I said as I armor-digivolved into Gizamon and flew after the T-Car.


	6. Something Stinks

Ten minutes into the drive, we were getting closer to the tower. The road that Cyborg took was near a cliff that was cut off from the road with a metal railing, with the ocean directly below the dropoff. Looking ahead I saw a fork in the road about another ten minutes forward. Turn right to get to the tower, and left to continue along the rocky coastline.

Though they were all in the car, down below I could still hear Cyborg and his companions. The dynamics they all had with each other and the roles they all had in their little team were becoming very apparent. There was Robin, the legendary boy wonder and former apprentice of the equally, if not more, legendary Batman. He was the leader of the team and seemed to carry himself as such in everything he did.

Cyborg, the mechanical menace was most likely the weapons and tech expert of the team, and probably doubled as the team's muscle. Nobody could accuse him of favoring either brawn or brains over the other.

Then you've got Starfire, the Tamaranian Princess who's name alone says it all. Despite her looks, her physical strength alone is nothing to take lightly, and she can have a hothead temper to match.

Beast Boy, the clear underdog and little brother of the team, made apparent via his self-appointed role as comic relief. Like several members of his team, his name says it all, the boy with the ability to turn into any animal he chooses. However, as black and white as his powers may seemed, I saw several questions that they presented. For instance, how did he come about to have such power? Was he born that way? Or did something happen to him?

Speaking for animagi, though most of us go our entire lives Changing into one and only one animal, it's not unheard of for some individuals to be able to Change into two or more. Hell, look at me, in the short time since I had arrived to Jump City I had Changed into three different animals. Well two really, but in three different forms. Bottom line though, sometimes animagi can Change into several animals, but it's usually due to external influence.

For instance, about three years ago, three of my sisters, along with several other high school animagi were abducted and experimented on. They were periodically being injected with a substance we later discovered was called primordial ooze. Basically it's an amber-colored liquidy substance that was first discovered in dinosaur bones, and they had been chemically duplicating it, with the crazy idea of bringing dinosaurs back to life to wipe out mankind. Though their idea was ridiculous and ultimately failed, their experiments more or less were successful. Though they weren't turned into dinosaurs per-say, after learning to control their newly acquired powers, my sisters now have the option of "going dino" in addition to Changing to the regular animal forms if the situation calls for it.

Beast Boy seemed to have no limit to how many animals he could Change into, and on an interesting side note, when in animal form, he seemed to lack the ability to speak human speech, as apposed to other animagi. No matter which animal we decided to Change into, my sisters and I had never had a problem with speaking both animal and human speech in either form, nor had we ever met an animagus who did. The only exceptions to this rule were werewolves, and that's only because certain breeds cannot speak human speech in wolf form. It's because of that that I originally thought Beast Boy might be a werewolf.

There's a breed of werewolves known as Kashubian Shapeshifters, werewolves with the ability to Change into any animal they wish. However there were two conflicts with that theory. The first is the issue of human speech. I once met a Kashubian as a child. He too was just a child and struggled to control his powers at the time. However, despite him being unable to control when he Changed, he still kept his conscious when he did and maintained his ability to speak human speech, whereas Beast Boy apparently couldn't. Also, Kashubians' shapeshifting powers are limited to animals they've come into physical contact with. They had to have met and touched an animal before being able to Change into it, and I highly doubted that as young as Beast Boy was, he's traveled around the world _that_ much. On second thought I was being a bit too unfair, I didn't know Beast Boy or his origins. Since meeting him, I had witnessed him morph into a total of nine animals so far, most of which you don't just stumble upon. I needed more information, because his lack of a limit to his abilities was making me question if he was even an animagus. He was the most intriguing of the group, well second most.

The most intriguing by far was Raven. Upon thinking about Raven I noticed her heartbeat just as I did when I first met her, and just like before, my heartbeat staggered hers. Though I was able to correctly guess her name, observation-wise I had very little information about her at all. Starfire and Robin I was aware of prior to meeting them, and Beast Boy and Cyborg weren't too hard to get a read on. Raven on the other hand was in a class of her own. I was asleep, exhausted and tired from nearly drowning when I first sensed her, and when I did it was like she was calling out to me, or at least her powers were. Had I not sensed her, I very well would've probably ignored the tower, or at least would've had no desire to try and scale it.

Powers aside, I was more interested in her as a person. Something about her appearance was hard to look away from. For instance, it's quite clear her true strength lied in her mind via her dark powers, yet her body was sculpted like that of a fighter. Then there was her cloak. What purpose did it serve? Was she merely self-conscious about herself? If so, that wasn't made apparent at the pizza joint. Her hood was down and she could be seen by all. I was also curious about her bindi as well as the jewels on her belt and cloak. Normally one would associate a bindi with Indian culture, except that Raven's jewelry looked like it was non-human, like it was not from Earth, which brought me to her skin. It was one thing for her skin to have been pale, but hers was also a shade of gray. In the places I've lived, that would've be an immediate red flag to the human community, but that didn't seem to be the case here.

This fivesome consisted of two humans, a mutant, an alien, and a girl who I was assuming, at least at that point, was also a mutant. The three non-human members had gray, orange, and green skin, and as for the two human members, one was quite literally a cyborg and the other was the former apprentice of Batman, a man who not only had a secret identity, but came out only at night to fight crime and evil, whereas his former apprentice seemed to just walk around town with no regard to who saw him or not. Not to mention they drove around in a one-of-a-kind car modeled after the cyborg, lived in a tower on their own private island that's as clear as day and can easily be accessed and located, and the tower itself was in the shape of the letter "T", and everybody in this city seemed to be okay with this. Whenever an alien landed on Earth back in Germany, granted it only happened twice, the entire country went ballistic. When Starfire and Blackfire wreaked havoc in South Dakota, they were both deemed wanted criminals for the next two years. Here, they all just walked around town like normal citizens. Though I applauded the humans of Jump City for being open-minded and accepting of people that would've been considered "freaks" where I was from, I still couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that. Who were these people to this city? And more importantly, how did Raven play into all of this?

_Wait, what_, I thought to myself as I managed to unintentionally focus on Raven again. I thought about when we met and how impressed I was by her powers. I thought about how embarrassing it was for her to see me act like a clutz when I dropped from the light post and look at how filthy I was after being jumped and ambushed earlier. And I thought about her violet eyes, and how deep and hypnotic they were, and how they were pretty to look at and…. _Oh, my God! What's happening to me?_ When I came back from my daydreaming I found myself with my tail wagging, my heart was racing at what felt like 100 mph, and my face starting having this weird warm sensation. _Ho-ly shit! I really was blushing! That's impossible! Black people don't blush, do they_, I asked myself as I wasn't sure whether it was that black people didn't blush, or I just never experienced blushing before. I panicked again a little as I noticed that although it was still staggering my heartbeat, Raven's heart was still racing just as quickly as mine was, and I could still hear it. _Oh, God. Can she hear mine? Can she sense me, too? She must be able to, how else could she have met me the way she did?_

My pitiful whining came to a halt when I noticed a familiar scent. I closed my eyes for a moment so my nose could focus. It smelt like ash, and upon pinpointing what the smell was, I heard a familiar sound. It was the revving of the engine from before. Whoever mugged me was nearby. Upon realizing this I snarled as I darted my head all over the place looking for the source of the scent. It was then that the wind picked up and gusted by me. The smell was stronger now. We were downwind from its source, and it was getting closer.

_Payback time_, I thought to myself as I took a dive to my right towards the water. I heard the T-Car screech to a halt as I overheard Beast Boy comment on my manuever. As I dove I wheeled back around and flew straight towards the rocky wall made by the cliff. I had an idea for a sneak attack and I figured now was as good a time as any to see if I could pull it off. _If Raven can do it, then so can I_, I thought as my purple eyes burned an even brighter purple as I created a portal of my own, which I immediately flew into. Once through the portal, my vision was altered dramatically. It wasn't a matter of seeing through my eyes anymore, I saw through my mind. My eyes usually limited me to whatever I saw right in front of them. In this dimension of shadows I created, my mind allowed me to see everything, and I do mean everything. From the tower that was still a few minutes away, to the pizza joint from before, to the alleyway where I ate that rat, I could see it all. I could also see the motorcycle rider as he approached.

A rather built, but still very skinny guy. His bike, helmet, and gear were all pitch-black. The face-shield for his helmet was open because in his right hand, tucked between his fingers, was a lit cigar, one of those beefy cheap ones that reek like an ashtray. I looked at his wrist, and there was my watch. That had to be him, I was sure of it. I waited until he passed the T-Car, Robin and the others had stepped out of the car at that point, and when he was close enough I opened another portal to his left and lunged at him with a roar rushing out of my jaws. My left paw didn't connect with anything, but my right paw caught his back as it clawed across his shoulder blades. When my paws passed him I wrapped them around him as the force of my lung brought me close enough to sink my teeth into his left shoulder. The force of my attack was more than enough to cause him to lose balance and fall over, crashing the bike. As we rolled one over the other I eventually opened my wings and backed off from him for a moment to escape road rash as he continued to roll for a few more feet. When he stopped I flew back down to him and pinned him to the ground with my right paw, he was lying on his stomach. I sniffed his torso to confirm if it was him, in case I had accidentally attacked an innocent bystander. I found several traces of my scent as well as my blood. It was him. I positioned myself towards his legs and I tear off his rider pants with my teeth. I was about to search his jeans when I heard a familiar voice.

"Titans, go!" I took to the air just in time to dodge another cannon blast from Cyborg. His blast not only missed me, but it also almost struck the man I attacked. This started some concern for me. I attacked him, yes, but I did so so that the damage I inflicted could've been survived. I didn't inject him with my venom, so he wouldn't Turn, and my intention was just to take back what he stole from me and get even with him. If Cyborg blasted him, he might not have been able to get back up afterwards. My concern only got worse as Starfire joined in with a barrage of star bolts. For each one I dodged, a small explosion appeared on the street, which at that point was apparently a battlefield. One of her star bolts landed close enough to the rider that the explosion caused him to fly a few more feet and roll onto his back.

"Starfire, stop", I shouted trying to reason with her. I should've expected it wouldn't work, she already didn't like me. Her assault continued, as did Cyborg's. Since they were targeting me, I moved away from the rider and circled towards them. I positioned myself to where they were in front of me and the natural rock wall was behind me. They fired their attacks at me and I dodged, causing several large rocks to break off and hurl towards them.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven. I turn back to see the same rocks now being hurled at me, only now surrounded by black aura. My trap had backfired. I managed to dodge the rocks, only to be sucker punched by another display of Beast Boy's powers. One second he was a hummingbird again, zipping through the flying rocks as he got closer to me, and in the next second, once he got close enough, he's a gorilla as he punches me in the back of the head and I fall to the ground. Before I have the chance to recover Robin throws one of his signature birdarangs at me. It breaks open to reveal that there was a pair of bolas inside as they tie my wings together, causing me to crash. Before I can even think about breaking free or even moving, Cyborg is standing over me with his cannon pointed at my face. Starfire hovers behind him as backup. And to top that off, though I couldn't see them, Gorilla Beast Boy and Robin were standing behind me anticipating a counterattack.

"That right there, that wasn't a smart move", said a confident Cyborg. I was about to explain what was going on when I noticed Raven walking over to the unconscious man. As she looked him over, I noticed his toe move, but he wasn't responding to her voice. So I read his mind, he was planning a trap.

"Get away from him", I shouted. It was too late, she was too close for him to miss. The man jumps to his feet, sweeping Raven's legs in the process.

"Raven", yelled Robin in concern. This caused the others to look away for a split second, giving me enough time to teleport. I used the teleport to switch places with Raven, making me the new target of his assault. He swung his fist at me and I caught it in my paw.

"You don't know when to quit, do you", he asked me.

"Apparently neither do you", I said as I snapped my jaws at him.

"Oh I haven't even started yet." He swung his other fist at me and I caught it as well. He just smiled. Something was up. Next thing I knew, what looked like red electricity sparked from his hands. Before I could pull away I felt something hurting me, but I couldn't figure out what it was at first. I look back at my opponent, and what I saw shocked me, both literally and figuratively. The shocks from his hands were draining me of strength, and all of it was being transferred to him. I watched in shock as the skinny man, morphed into a much more muscular man. This one was shirtless and had red, spiky hair that was the same color as the energy shocks he was using to drain me. His skin was a slightly lighter shade of gray than Raven's, and the strange red energy surged throughout his body. I tried letting his hands go, but something about that energy he was using prevented me from moving my paws. He ended up draining so much of my energy from me that I ended up reverting back to my human form. I squirmed and struggled trying to break free. It was at that moment he said, "now I have the pleasure of doing what that old fool couldn't".

His mentioning of Doctor Light made me angry. This was the second person to come after me, and they seemed to be in on a much bigger picture. Not only that, I _still _didn't know where Taiyo was or the other Elementals for that matter. And not only _that_, Raven was watching the two of us as we were locked hand in hand. That settled it, I refused to lose to this guy. Since I couldn't use my hands, I decided to use my feet. I pulled back as hard as I could. He assumed that I was still trying to pull away, so he pushed into me with an evil grin as we backed into the rocky wall behind me. When I was close enough to it, I kicked both my legs back to the wall, and then proceeded to launch myself off the wall straight at my opponent. Upon doing so, I managed to get close enough to headbutt him. After losing his balance, he fell back and our connection was broken, freeing me from his powers. I rest on one knee for a moment as I catch my breath. I look back at the others.

"You know any time you wish to help would be nice." Without hesitation Cyborg fired his cannon at the red-haired man, still dizzy from my headbutt. I know I was. Despite that, he managed to dodge, but at the cost of his bike, which Cyborg easily destroyed. He tucked and rolled and fired blasts of red energy from his hands, which Starfire made quick work of as she intercepted each one with a star bolt. Through the cloud of smoke caused by the explosions, Beast Boy morphed into a rhino and tackled him. Raven then uses her magic to immobolize our opponent long enough for Robin to restrain his arms with another pair of bolas. Having regained enough of my power back, I Change back into my regular wolf form and charge at him. He leaps to his feet and heads for the railing. When he gets there, he dives head first over the side towards the water. As he dove, the world slowed down again. In his back pocket, the right one, I could see a bulge. _That's gotta be it. I just know it._ I dove after him. I used my tail to hang onto the railing as I dove and before he was out of range I clamped my jaws on his right ass cheek. He shrieked in pain. I doubt he saw it coming, because I sure as Hell didn't plan on it.

My little treatment to his rear must've _really_ ticked him off, because he then proceeds to flail his legs at me even though I have him in my jaws. He eventually manages to accidentally Hail Mary my right eye with his heel. I shut my eyes and jerk my head in response to the pain, as a result there was a loud ripping sound, followed by a scream. I waited there hanging with my eyes closed expecting to hear a splash, but none came. Robin and the others were also very quiet. He was gone. I didn't know where or how, but he was gone. In his place, still clamped between my jaws, I tasted fabric and felt something large and made of leather. I couldn't tell what exactly I was biting into, and I couldn't see.

Truth be told, I lacked the ability to wink my right eye, so since it was the one that got kicked, I was unable to open my left eye without opening the right one as well, and the last thing I wanted to do was open my right eye. It wasn't just stinging from pain, it was bleeding. I could feel it. That mugger put a lot of force into that one lucky blow, and with my powers still on the fritz, probably moreso at that point after the stunt he tried to pull, I was still unable to heal at will, leaving me temporarily blind for the time being. I didn't want the others to see me like this. I just willingly bit a man's ass, he managed to escape, despite him escaping he did manage to ding me up fairly bad, and I was already burdening myself onto these guys, not to mention the fact that I was constantly on edge whenever I was around either Starfire or Raven, though it was for completely different reasons between the two. Instead of facing them in my current condition, I decided it was time for some smoke and mirrors. I cloaked myself with my aura and enchanted it. I call it the "forced beholder". It forces anyone who sees whatever I cloaked to see whatever it is I want them to see. It also manipulates the other senses as well, such as hearing and touch, when necessary.

I then swing from my tail and rejoin the others. They commented and gave me props for how I handled myself and apologized for attacking me. They explained to me that the guy was someone called Johnny Rancid and that like Doctor Light, he was another lawbreaker they ran into from time to time. As the conversation went on, as far as the others knew they were just talking to me like normal. In their eyes, they saw me just as they remembered me, in human form with both eyes open and undamaged, with my mouth moving as I spoke to them like I would in any other conversation. Little did they know that in actuality I was in wolf form with my eyes closed and my jaws still tightly clenched on whatever the Hell I ripped from Johnny's jeans. I was putting all my faith in my ears as I attempted to tune into everyone just as I would if my eyes were open. As for the voice they were hearing as I spoke to them, I was speaking to them telepathically, but projecting it out loud so they all could hear. We all stood there for a few minutes chit-chatting when Beast Boy spoke out again.

"Alright, for real now, can we get this guy a shower, please?"

"I'll go on ahead and take him. Save us some time", suggested Raven, much to my surprise.

"Good idea, Raven. I'm sure our friend here is exhausted and I'm also pretty sure Cyborg isn't willing to give him a ride", said Robin.

"You are absolutely right. I'm sorry, dude, but BB contributes enough smells to my car as it is." This of course caused Beast Boy to feel obligated to respond, which in turn baited Cyborg into an argument, which then caused Robin to try to step in and break it up, blah blah blah, argue argue argue.

"Yeah, we're gonna go now", said Raven as she drags me into another portal. A few moments later we arrive at our destination. This was where I got a little worried. My spell was still in effect, but I still couldn't see, and now I didn't know where I was. I moved my head back and forth as I pretended to look around the building.

"Nice place y'all got here."

"Thanks. The yellow wallpaper was my idea."

"It's a nice touch." She chuckled to herself a little. Then she grabs my paw, sending chills up my spine as I felt her smooth skin against the scruffiness of my fur, and she leads me to a chair in what I assumed was the living room of the place based on the chair I was sitting in.

"You can stop the charade now."

"What do you mean", I asked her as I tried desperately not to sound defensive.

"Do I really seem like the type of person to suggest yellow wallpaper?" I sat there awkwardly without a response. She set me up for a trap, and I had walked right into it. "There's no need to waste your energy. Let me see." She was right. My spell required a lot of concentration and mental stamina, and although I had no intention of expressing it, I was becoming even more exhausted. Seeing as how I was caught and none of the others were around, I broke my spell. I spit out whatever it was that was in my jaws onto my lap and revert back to human form. My heart started to race again when she didn't say anything about my injury or about what was in my mouth. My right eye shifted under my eyelid, and a single drop of blood trailed down my cheek, it's sharp and loud smell filled my nostrils, and the sad part was it was currently one of my better smells. "Hold still", she says as she puts one of her hands over my injured eye. She goes quiet again as she covers my eye with some of her aura, but this one felt different than her usual aura. Her black aura was cold and dark. This one felt warm, and once my eye had healed enough for me to move it, I caught a glimpse of a white light. The white aura vanished as quickly as it appeared as my eye felt better than it did before. I blink a few times as my eyes adust to reveal the image of Raven as she's only inches away from my face. I gulp nervously as I struggled to keep calm.

"Um, *clears throat, thanks."

"Can't wink your right eye, can you?"

"Was it _that_ obvious?"

"Not really. I took a shot in the dark, turns out I was correct. I guess you could call it a lucky guess." I couldn't help but smile a little. "Go down this hall and turn left. The bathrooms are the last door on the left", she said as she pointed towards my right. "The boys have their own bathroom. We have extra towels in the top cabinet, just avoid using any of the red, green, or blue ones."

"Thank you." I didn't know what else to say without sounding awkward or too forward. Without another word Raven went down the hallway first. I originally planned to wait in my seat for a moment so it didn't look like I was following her, but then I thought that it'd probably look weirder for me to just sit there waiting for her to round the corner. Before standing up, I look down at my lap to see what I was biting into. As I had hoped, it _was_ my wallet that was in Johnny's pocket. However there was some unpleasant news as well. Also in my lap were two large pieces of fabric. The first was denim, from Johnny's jeans, but the other one made me a bit sick to my stomach. It was pink and frilly, and the piece that I managed to rip off had little red hearts all over it. It was a piece of Johnny's underwear. I stick out my tongue and shiver in disgust in response to learning what was just in my mouth. _Not sure whether I should shower first, or brush my teeth._ I then stand up and follow behind her, slowly.

We walk past the first door on the left with the words "Beast Boy" written on it. She opens the second door and walks inside, closing the door behind her. I walk past the closed door as I notice the word "Raven" written on it.

_Guess that's her room._ Feeling relieved that I was no longer following her, I continue to the third door, which had the word "Bathroom" written on it. I open it and find a small corridor with two more doors in it. The left was the boys' bathroom, and the girls' was on the right, and the wallpaper around both doors were painted the cliche colors blue and pink. I open the blue door on the left and walk inside to find that the bathroom was built like a high school locker room, only without the lockers. There were three bathroom stalls, three urinals, and another door leading to a room that had three shower stalls. Considering all that I went through that day, I had never been more happy to see a shower in my life. _It's so beautiful, I could just cry_, I thought to myself as I undressed and hurried to the shower as quickly as I could.


	7. Lone Wolf

Needless to say, the shower felt like Heaven on Earth. After rolling around in garbage, being drenched in strawberry ice cream, and flossing my teeth with another man's tighty whiteys, it felt absolutely wonderful to feel clean again. I stood there with my eyes closed as the hot water slid down my body. My head hangs forward as my knees started to sway as my body tries to assume the sensation of sleep.

_Ah, what the Hell, I'm feeling a bit wild today_, I think to myself as I lean my head back so that my hair could get wet. On most days I hated washing my hair. In all honesty I found it to be tedious and in most cases uncomfortable and tiresome. However, that day was exceptional. I try to look to my left, and my eyes instinctively shut as water splashes into them. I had forgotten that one of the other reasons I hated washing my hair was because my eyes were extremely sensitive to water. If it weren't for the fact that my powers allow my body to adapt to just about any situation, I'd be completely useless in battle if water were involved. "Mind if I borrow these", I sarcastically ask myself as if I were talking to Lobomon. The water immediately became meaningless to my eyes as they Changed from brown to yellow. "Ah, much better."

I look back over to my left to see a metal shower rack hanging from the top of the border that separates my shower stall from the next. I notice two bottles. The first was a bottle of Old Spice body wash, the other was a bottle of pet shampoo from what I assumed was a local company. The brand was called "Dand-Ruff". It was safe to assume that this was Beast Boy's shower that I was using. I looked at the bottle as I thought to myself, _there's an idea_. I completed my Change into my wolf form as I popped open the bottle and began to lather my black fur. Whoever had designed this stuff was like a dog whisperer or something because it felt amazing. It was thick enough to seep down to my skin through my fur, but light and oily enough to slide as well. Plus it smelled like summer grass. _I'd love to see what these guys do for fleas_, I thought to myself as my tail wagged in delight.

With my fur sufficiently scrubbed and rid of all traces of filth, I revert back to my human form to enjoy the water for a bit longer. As the water rolled down my dark skin, my mind began to wander. I began thinking about the people I'd encountered thus far after arriving at Jump City. So far the only significant people I'd met were the five that inhabited the tower. The only other two people outside of them that were worth even considering to mention were Johnny Rancid and that television stereotype blonde I bumped into. This caused me to ponder all of the questions I had about this fivesome and go over all of the information I'd gathered from observing them. I started to _react_ at the thought of Raven.

_Shit! Now I can't get out_, I thought to myself as I looked down at _myself_. _Dead kittens, dead kittens, dead kittens_, I chanted trying to cool off. It wasn't working, I was still thinking about Raven. Her eyes, her voice, her legs, I could tell that I was going to be in there for a while. _I wonder if she likes me_, I wondered. I answered my own question as I looked at myself. _Eh, who am I kidding?_ As if on cue, _all_ of me started to descend back down to Earth. I highly doubted Raven would be interested in me. I mean, sure, we were both fueled by the powers of darkness, but what else was there?

She complimented her darkness with an image of beauty, a sharp wit, a sarcastic sense of humor, and an understanding of things that most people didn't notice. As for me, I was nothing to double-take at. The only thing positive I could say about myself appearance-wise was that I was tall. In my human form I stood at 73 inches. However, I weighed about 240 pounds, 50 pounds more than what I should weigh, according to most doctors. My gut had patches of dry skin on it that I would never be able to get rid of due to my protest against lotion when I was a small child, and when I looked at my chest, all I saw were a woman's breasts accompanied by stretch marks near my armpits. It didn't matter if they were really that big or not, that's how I saw myself, and it would've taken more than self-esteem exercises to make me see otherwise. My back had even more dry patches across it than my stomach did, and my arms were a mess. The undersides of them flapped when I wiggled them, and the outsides had patches of acne and more dry skin between the elbows and the shoulders. The only toned part of me were my legs. My calves were toned and firm, but that didn't say much when you considered how large my thighs and hips were as indicated by the stretch marks towards my groin. I wasn't anybody's prize, and if you ever looked at me, you'd probably never guess that I was this dark werewolf prince that evildoers feared and loathed so greatly.

A common misconception with animagi was that people assumed our human forms reflected our truer animal forms. This couldn't be any further from the truth, because otherwise I would've been stunning, or at least not a werewolf. When an animagus Changes, body fat is Changed into muscle. There are very few animals that are deemed fat, and for the few that are, there are genetic reasons for it. Examples of this could be shown when comparing my associate Taiyo, with my older sister Sandra.

When they Changed, Taiyo became a white rhinoceros, while my sister became a saltwater crocodile. Both were heavy-weight animals when in their truer forms, and both were very athletic, strong, and agile. With that said, it tended to surprise most people when the human forms of the large and chunky rhino and the slender and sleek crocodile were a skinny, yet built Japanese-American male, and an obese, country, white girl, respectively. Although to be fair, despite my sister's large size, she had much more confidence in herself than I did in mine. She would describe herself as PHAT (Plump Hot And Thick), and she owned that attitude to the letter. She was our high school's number one swimmer on the swim team for all four years, and for volunteer hours she taught gymnastics to middle schoolers. You hadn't lived until you saw my sister do a full split on those little ring things that hung from the ceiling.

The point was, my human form had little to no reflection of my wolf form. Now when I was in a fight and happened to be in my human form at the time, my body underwent what I called Battle Mode, which was where just as if I were about to Change, my body temporarily converted my excess body fat into muscle. Even at that point in time as I stood in the shower thinking about it, I still found it a weird and bizarre sight to see as my large gut and man tits got inhaled by my body and instantly replaced with a chiseled six-pack and fully toned pecs. However, weird or not, I could only go into Battle Mode, as the name suggests, during a fight, meaning I couldn't control it at will, and obviously I couldn't live my life as a wolf forever unless I intended to live in the forest or a zoo, so I was stuck with my pitiful human form. It was just as much a part of me as any of my other forms. Granted it was my least favorite form, but still, a form of myself.

After cooling down and returning to reality, I reach my right hand up towards the border of the shower and grab at the air. When nothing fell into my grasp I turned my head and looked. I had forgotten to grab a towel before coming into the shower.

"God dammit." I Changed back into my wolf form as I unlock the stall and step out. I drop to all fours and shake out my fur as hard as I could. Without a towel it was the best I could do for the moment. As water left my fur I could feel myself feeling more like a poodle than a werewolf as my fur fluffed out giving me a poofy appearance. I stalk towards the door leading to the main room of the bathroom. I slowly open the door and peak my head through as I take a look around. _Thank God nobody can see me like this. _I continue through the doorway as I walk to the sinks. I rise back to my hind legs and look at myself in the mirror. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Prince of Darkness", I said as I motioned my paws towards my stupid-looking reflection. I look up above the mirrors and notice the cabinet that Raven mentioned earlier. I open it and grab an orange towel and begin to dry off the rest of the excess moisture from my fur. I notice a hair dryer sitting near one of the sinks and I grab it and plug it in. I then spend the following five minutes drying my fur while simultaneously patting it down with my free paw. Once I was sure that I looked like a real werewolf again I wrap up my clothes in the towel I used and tie it all in a bundle. I then return to all fours and walk out of the bathroom with the towel hanging from my jaws. I walk back down the hallway from which I came and make a right.

This hallway had three chairs lined up on my left, the furthest one being the one Raven led me to, and further down to the right the hallway opened to the living room. I could hear everyone interacting with one another. I walk out to the entry way of the living room. Once there I observed the others. To my left was Raven, curled up onto a chair similar to that of the chairs you sit in at the booths of restaurants. Her large, violet eyes were buried in a book as they scanned left to right. Directly in front of me was Beast Boy and Cyborg. They sat on the huge couch in the center of the room in front of the even larger television set. They were locked in a competitive game of Mario Kart Double Dash.

_Huh, nice_, I thought to myself as I wondered how long it had been since I played that game. To my right, Robin was standing in front of a large stereo system as it blasted music with an enormous amount of bass in it, none of which seemed to bother Robin as he stood there tuning everything but the music out. Further to my right was Starfire as she was bent over with her rear in Robin's direction rummaging through the fridge. She stands back up and calls back to Beast Boy.

"Is there none of the milk of soy left, Beast Boy?"

"Sorry, polished it off just this morning."

"Besides, BB here is about to get a full serving of dust", exclaimed Cyborg as I noticed he used a mushroom as a turbo boost. He was playing using Luigi and Bowser, while Beast Boy was using Donkey Kong and Birdo.

_Interesting choices_, I thought to myself as I thought back at how I usually paired Birdo with Yoshi. Starfire then notices me and huffs once again. This apparently was enough to grab Robin's attention.

"Well, look who finally surfaced." The others immediately pause what they were doing and give me their undivided attention.

_No pressure or anything._

"Welcome to Titans Tower", he continued as he motioned his right arm across the room.

"Um, why does he possess one of my body cloths in his mouth", asked Starfire. I was told to avoid using the red, green, and blue towels. The only other two color choices were orange and purple. It didn't take me long to realize the meaning behind the color choices of the towels. Five people, five color choices. Green was Beast Boy, blue was Cyborg, purple was Raven, red was Robin, and orange was Starfire. Since my only two choices were orange and purple, I immediately chose orange. I didn't want to risk coming off as any more weird to Raven than I already did, plus I knew it'd get a reaction out of Starfire.

"Better question, does he not have any other clothes", asked Beast Boy. Cyborg responded by bonking him on the head.

"Be any more rude why don't you." I drop my tail, lower my ears, and move my two hind legs together awkwardy in response to Beast Boy graciously pointing out that if it weren't for the fact that I was in wolf form, I'd be streaking through the tower. Out the corner of my eye I noticed Raven blushing slightly as she raised her book to cover her face, causing me to feel even more bashful.

"The laundry room is in the lobby", said Robin as he pointed to the elevator doors behind me. I nodded my head as I turned and walked towards the elevator.

"Um, it's easier to use on two legs", said Beast Boy sarcastically as Cyborg bonks him again. Upon hearing him say that I toss the bundle into the air. I then quickly turn around and donkey kick it. The bundle flies towards the wall and pushed the down button, activating the elevator. I walk over and pick up the bundle with my teeth as the elevator dings and the doors open. I walk inside and turn my head towards the buttons as I push the one that said "Lobby" with my tail. I then turn towards the others and bow as the doors close.

_In your face_, I thought to myself as a grin stretches across my muzzle. The elevator carries me seven floors down to the lobby, which as it turns out was a fitting name for the room. I walk out of the elevator and take a look around.

To my left were two tall bookshelves full of books which were clearly there just for show. From where I was standing I noticed that several of the books were random encyclopedias and several different editions of an English dictionary.

_Man, I bet even Starfire doesn't read any of this crap._ I look directly in front of me at the coffee table, with two recliners, one on each side, of it. In the center of the chairs, directly behind the table, was a tall lamp that turned on and off with a cord that hung from the top. It was clear that none of the others ever used this room due to the fact that the air smelled of dust, the only exception being the washer and dryer that were to my right.

I walk the bundle over to the machines and help myself to the detergent and fabric softener as I load my clothes into the washer. With twenty minutes to kill while I waited, I noticed a phone on the wall to my right. It was an old-fashioned wall phone with a spiral cord. I knew there was no way I could speak into that thing with my wolf head, so I Changed my head to my human form. I walk over awkwardly to the phone as I wonder how ridiculous I probably looked in my current state. I then pick up the receiver and dial my mother's cell phone number. When she answers, the expected and dreaded one-sided conversation begins.

She opens up saying how angry she was with me for not checking in, and then started going on about all the stress and nonsense I put her through. My mother and I hadn't seen eye-to-eye for the past several years, and for the past six months she had been threatening to throw me out of the house. I initially tune her out, only speaking to say "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" when required. Eventually we get to a point where she stops talking and I tell her everything that happened up to that point. After I finished, I asked her if she knew what happened to Taiyo. She didn't, which worried me slightly. I then ended by saying that I was planning on staying in Jump City for the time being while I waited for Doctor Light to reappear. Her response shocked me to the core.

"Good, because I was about to tell you not to come back anyway."

"Wait, what? Why can't I come back?"

"Look, as I've said, I've lost all feelings of joy that comes from being your mother. I'm done. I'm sick of your mouth, I'm sick of the stuff you put me through, and most of all, I'm sick of you. You're 21 years old, and it's time you started acting like it, and not like this wannabe superhero bullshit you've thrusted on this family for the past several years."

"It's not bullshit! Have you forgotten what I am?" The legends of the Elementals were passed down through my family from my father's side. She had married into this belief and was never a fan of the life I lived because of it.

"You better watch who you're talking to. I say it's bullshit, and you're not changing my mind. You will not live in my house while you spend your free time picking fights and looking for trouble."

"Mom, what am I supposed to do? I have a job and school there."

"I already took the liberty of calling your teachers and your job. They know you won't be coming back and I emptied your accounts, so you can go ahead and throw away that debit card."

"What the Hell, Mom! You can't do that!"

"I can do whatever I want to do, the account is in _my _name! Just as the house _I_ paid for was _your_ house, the money _you_ earned is in _my _account. Now I'm giving you one week to find you a place to live so I can mail you your belongings, otherwise I'm throwing the shit out. I'm not dragging it around anymore. If you need money, call your _white_ friends. Or better yet, get help from your _real_ family", she said in reference to my "play siblings". "Call me when you have an address, if not, well then best of luck to ya." And with that, she hung up the phone. I was crushed.

I knew she and I never got along, but I never imagined she would abandon me. I growled in anger and in sorrow as tears filled my eyes to the point where it hurt to blink. I then drew my right arm back preparing to punch the wall when the buzzer for the washing machine sounded. I wipe my eyes and try to "fix" my face as if there were other people in the room as I walk over to the machine. I put my wet clothes into the dryer and turn it on. I had another thirty minutes of waiting time.

Since my mother was no help in learning the whereabouts of Taiyo, I decided to find out for myself, which I wished I could avoid. Years ago, Taiyo and Adryen, Elemental Prince of Water, set up a private phone line that was only accessible to the six Elementals, technically nine if you included Yea Seul, Megan, and Francesca, who were the fiancees of Taiyo, Adryen, and Ryan (Elemental Prince of Fire), respectively. We only used it to leave messages or to receive messages if we were to ever suspect one of us was in trouble. It was designed to where after you left a message, it would automatically delete after the next person called and listened to it. You then had the option of leaving a new message so that the process could continue all over again. With a heavy heart and a growing feeling of nervousness, I called our E-Mergency Line. There was a message there waiting for me. It was from Andre, Elemental Prince of Wind and my second in command.

"Lobomon…..", he began. The fact that he referred to me off the bat as "Lobomon" and not my real name already told me that something was wrong. "….at least I hope it's you that's hearing this message. We have a problem." It was then I noticed his voice started to break. "We recently received an S.O.S. from Taiyo. He told us that you had vanished and was being pursued by an enemy you two had fought. His message was interrupted in the middle of his call, we believe he was captured. In addition, Megan has informed me that Adryen has gone missing and I have lost contact with Asia." Asia was the Elemental Princess of Light and Andre's fiancee. "Ryan and I managed to move the girls and the kids (Ryan and Francesca's son and daughter Justin and Alexis, and Taiyo and Yea Seul's twin son and daughter Jackson and Wendy. Alexis was six months old, and the other three children were each two years old) to the safe house, but just barely. Our homes were attacked by armed men in masks. We cannot do much investigating with just the two of us, so if you're out there, if any of you are out there, please. We need you." With that, the message ended. I then left a message of my own.

"Andre, it's me. Do not worry, I am alright, and I'm glad you all are safe. Taiyo was correct, we did fight an enemy together recently, but the battle opened a wormhole and brought me here. For safety reasons I will not tell you where I am, but know that I am perfectly okay. The man that captured Taiyo is called Doctor Light, and I'm certain he got to the others as well. The wormhole teleported me to a place that to my understanding is where he resides, so I am currently waiting for him to return. However, the wormhole also has damaged my powers, limiting my abilities. With three of the Elementals captured and myself in a weakened state, it's more important than ever that we are ready when our enemy strikes next. You and Ryan are to stay there and protect the girls and the kids. They are all that's left of us. I will contact you when my powers return, but in exchange you must not seek me out. I repeat, do not seek me out. If it weren't for the fact that I have no family in Anchorage, my home would've probably been attacked as well. Conserve your energy and stay safe. And keep me posted if there's any news. I will send you updates as well from my end. I'm counting on you Andre. In my current state, I'm gonna need you to step up and protect our family. And don't worry, I promise we will find her. We will find all of them. Take care", I said as I hung up the phone. I sat there in silence as I waited for my laundry to finish.

My day had started bad and was ending horribly. Being abandoned in a new city far from home was one thing. My friends being picked off one by one was another. The whole situation was a little bit scary. I underestimated Doctor Light, and I felt that it was my fault that my friends were captured. Perhaps if I had taken his threat more seriously, they wouldn't have suffered. All I could think about is how I doomed my friends and all I could do at that point was hope that they were okay, wherever they were.

After what felt like hours, my laundry was finished. I pull out my clothes piece by piece as I slowly redress myself. I had forgotten that my shirt was white, and because I did the washer had turned it a lightish purple color due to it mixing with my jeans and the huge blood stain it had on it. Other than that my clothes were pretty much as they should be, except my shirt still had the word "ass" on it, which I made quick work of as I ripped the three remaining letters off of it. After I put my socks on I realized that I had left my shoes upstairs in the bathroom. I didn't feel like waiting for the elevator so I opened another portal in the ceiling and jumped through.

I emerged in the boys' bathroom and walked back to the showers. In the corner, away from the stalls, sat my used-to-be-white shoes with blue outlines. I slipped them on and made my way to the hallway. Once there, I instinctively begin to turn right towards the direction of the living room, but I then I thought, _I just need to be alone, right now._ I turn back towards my left, towards the wall at the end of the hall. There was nowhere else to go in that direction, making it the perfect exit just as soon as I opened another portal. I had just lifted my right hand and created the portal when she spoke.

"Not even a "goodbye"", asked Raven as she rounded the corner and walked towards me.

"Sorry, I just need to be alone."

"But you're already alone." I look down at the floor bashfully. "I'll tell Robin you had to leave." This seemed too easy, like this "goodbye" had more to it than simply that.

"What's the catch", I ask as I turn my head back at her.

"Just one thing. What do we call you? You never mentioned your name and I think I speak for us all when I say that we don't intend to ask Starfire for it." She had a point. Starfire had made it very clear since meeting her again that she despised me, and knowing her she probably would've went into a rant about how evil and twisted I was rather than simply tell them my name.

"My name is Fernando."

"Hmmmm", she said as she turned and opened the door to her room.

"What?"

"Your name. It's beautiful." Without another word she disappeared into her room.

"You're beautiful", I whispered. I then immediately slapped myself across the face. _Oh, shut up_, I thought to myself as I turned and walked through the portal and out of the tower.


	8. Bringing Home a Stray

5:00 pm, Saturday night, and Holy crap was I hungry. There wasn't any large game in Jump City, and I obviously couldn't go around killing every rat and bird I saw. It was too dangerous for me to try hunting in the ocean as weak as I currently was, and the only other animals in the city were domesticated, which I refused to kill for any reason. My only legitimate options at that point were grazing at the park, which I had previosuly tried and wound up being chased out for, and digging through the garbage.

_If this isn't rock bottom, I don't know what it_, I thought to myself having realized I was out of options. With hunger in my stomach and shame in my soul, I walk to the back of the pizza joint, which I learned was called Pizza Corner, and find three silver trash cans lined up against the wall. With all of my money being taken from me by my dearest mother, and the little cash I had before in my wallet been spent already thanks to Rancid, that was as close to a buffet I was ever going to see in a _long_ while. I rise to my hind paws and pick up one of the cans. With my free paw I take off the lid and place it on the ground. From there I take the can and gently lie it on its side as quietly as I could. The less people that saw me like this the better.

After about ten minutes of tedious picking through the filth, the only thing I could find that was edible was a stale crust that was torn off of a single slice of pizza. I pull it out of the can and wrap it in my tail so I could use my paws to clean up the mess I made. I had just finished when I noticed a sensation that felt like something grazed my tail with their teeth. A beagle had run by and snatched the crust out of my tail and was darting away.

"Oh, Hell no", I shouted with a roar as I took off after him.

I chased him out of the alley and onto the street as he made a sharp turn to the right. I took a gamble and leapt forward as high and far as I could and landed right in front of the furry thief. I then quickly rose to my hind legs as I turned to face the beagle and struck him across his face with my right paw. It wasn't enough to wound him, but it was definitely enough to get my point across. The dog flies into a nearby car and sets off the alarm. The small dog, now scared shitless manages to drop the crust. It rolls under the car as he sprints away in fear. I trot towards the wailing car and look under hoping that there was a way for me to reach my dinner, but it was at that moment the car's owner arrives, and lucky me, it was the same blonde woman from before, only this time she was armed with a broom.

She swings it at my head as I duck out of the way. She swings twice more, and again I dodge her attacks. I growl at her as a warning to back off, but she ignores it and swings at me a fourth time. Instead of dodging it, I decided on more of an intimidation tactic. I caught the broom in my jaws and clamped it as hard as I could. The woman fell backwards as her broom was split in two with my sharp teeth. She sits up and stares at me in shock for a moment. Thinking that she wouldn't be dumb enough to attack me again, I turn away from her and focus back on the pizza crust under her car. She sees this as an opportunity and jabs at me with her end of the broomstick, now sharpened like a crude spear thanks to my breaking it. It was too late for me to turn and use my paws so I swung my tail at her. My tail strikes her hand as my counterattack causes her to drop the broomstick. She screams upon doing so, grabbing the attention of several other people, now stopping what they were doing to watch us. It was then that she decided to play the part of the victim as she begins to back away slowly. I overheard someone nearby mention Animal Control as I thought, _not even worth it at this point._ I then turn and retreat down the street, the crowd gasping at my sudden movement.

When I was certain that I was in the clear, I started to walk. I didn't have any particular goal in mind for where to walk to, I was just walking. It was the only thing I could do to kill some time. After all, I had been abandoned by my mother, I had no money, no place to call home, I couldn't call any of my friends, and even if I could, I refused to be anyone's burden, so I had all the time in the world to kill. My walk eventually brought me to the end of the city, right at the edge of the forest. It was there that up ahead towards my right I noticed a little girl, no more than two years old, chasing a moth.

She was chasing it in the small grassy plain that started where the concrete of the city ended and led all the way up a large hill towards the forest. I look around and see nobody else near or with her. The child was completely unsupervised. This fact alone was too bothersome for me to ignore so I slowly walk up to her, dragging my paws on the ground as I did so that she could hear me coming. The last thing I wanted to do was startle her, though I doubted that it would've mattered all that much when she finally saw me.

I was about a good ten feet away from her when she stumbled and fell on her bottom. As the moth flew away, she finally notices me walking up to her and looks at me. I pause for a moment as she stared at me with her large brown eyes and a puzzled look on her face. I wasn't sure what to do, I was afraid of scaring her so I just stood there and waited for something to happen. She then points at me and says, "dog-gy", as her jaw dropped dramatically as she sounded out each syllable. I cock my head to the side, confused as to why she wasn't afraid of me. In the past, even when children thought I was just a dog, my size alone made them nervous to say the least. I wasn't sure if this child was just too young to fear me, or just didn't see me as nothing but a furry play thing. She drops her hand and manages to awkwardly pick herself up off the ground. She then walks towards me in that awkward fashion that babies and toddlers are known for with her hands out in front of her as she repeats, "dog-gy". I walk towards her in response.

She then starts to speed up and begins to stumble again, fortunately I was close enough to her that as she fell forward I stuck out my muzzle for her to fall onto. She falls back onto her bottom and explores my muzzle with her hands.

"Dog-gy", she says once again as she sticks both of her hands in my nostrils. My tail shoots up at the unexpected penetration of my nose. I instinctively snort as the girls hands fly out of my nose. She falls onto her back and hits her head on the ground. The grass absorbed most of the impact, causing no actual damage, but it was enough for her eyes to start tearing up.

Her body sort of "pulses" as she starts whimpering as if she had the hiccups. I lean over the small child and start to lick her face. At first she squirms as she continues to whine, but her whining quickly turns into giggling as the child begins thrashing her arms and legs in response to her laughter. I push my nose against her belly and quickly shake my head from side to side as if I were saying, "no". Her thrashing legs playfully kick at my chin as her laughter increases from being tickled. I walk to the girl's side and nudge her with my nose, urging her to roll onto her stomach. Still thinking we were playing, the child giggles again. As she giggled on her stomach, I pondered as to what action I should take to return her home.

This was a tricky process because I had to consider several factors: the child herself, whoever I was returning her to, and whoever I would run into on the way. As far as the child knew, I was a doggy, a very large, carnivorous doggy, but still a doggy. Though I didn't think it would affect her much, I did think it'd be worth her mentioning or remembering at the very least for a short while if a dog came up to her and started talking, walking on two legs, transforming into a human, started flying, or made her fly using magic. It would've also been a strange sight for anyone else who saw it, I mean it usually was. The difference between those previous times and right at that moment was that I had a small child with me, a small child that wasn't mine. One look at me with this child and people were going to assume the worst, that a lone, rogue wolf lived up to a totally old cliche and snatched a child from her home under the cover of darkness. The situation would've only gotten worse if they saw that the wolf in question possesed any kind of supernatural powers as well. It was then that I considered disappearing for a moment, Changing back to my human form, and then returning to take the child back home as a person rather than an animal. I immediately deemed the idea as stupid when I considered what would happen if someone should catch me with a child that wasn't mine. It'd look bad no matter what form I was in, but at least as a wolf they couldn't put my face on a wanted list or put a face on Jump City's newest registered sex offender. Staying as a wolf was my best bet, I just needed to be ready to retreat if things got really bad.

The child wasn't wearing any strong clothing material that would support her weight if she hung from it, so instead of grabbing at her clothes with my teeth, I wrapped my tongue around her waist a few times and hoisted her to my jaws close enough to give the appearance that she was in my jaws. I may have been a werewolf, but fortunately I was part snake as well. The girl quieted down and curiously slid her hand across my tongue in observation. I cringed slightly as I was forced to taste her hand, which was full of the residue of a seriously strong baby lotion as well as traces of mucus acquired from her exploration of my nose moments ago. As she squirmed in my tongue, I considered the possibility of hypnotizing her first before moving her. Unfortunately I deemed that a bad idea as well because I figured her parents would rather see visually that their daughter was alive and healthy than she her unconscious in the jaws of a werewolf. Besides it was going to take a while to track her scent back to her house, and maybe I would get lucky and she would recognize something on the way, ultimately making my job easier. I turn around, the child still in my grasp, and walk back towards Jump City with my nose working overtime as it tried to follow the scent without it being close to the ground as it usually would be in this sort of situation.

I had just passed the city border when I lost the trail of her scent. I place the girl back on the ground for a moment as I walk around the general area searching for her scent. When I couldn't find it, I returned to her to familiarize myself with her scent and searched again. It was then I noticed that the air smelt moist. I look up and notice in the distance towards the coast of the city some storm clouds starting to roll in. The inevitable rainstorm was dampening the air, making it harder to track her scent, and time was of the essence if I wanted to get her home before she got sick. With tracking her scent out of the question, I go for broke and attempt to read her mind.

As expected, she was still too young to retain and organize memories effectively, making it difficult to navigate through the various images and events that she kept in her mind. With a little luck, I happen across a recent memory of her when she had first noticed the moth. She found it resting on a light post when she tried to grab at it. When it flew away she followed it. I notice that the memory showed the same street I was walking down that ultimately led me to her. Upon realizing that, I exit her mind and look down the street. The same light post was just a few yards away on the first left. I pick up the child in my tongue again and trot down the street to the light post. I was on the sidewalk about to cross the small street to the light post on the corner when I notice that to my left, the street led to a tiny cul-de-sac consisting of four apartment buildings.

Counting from left to right, the fourth building had a police car parked in front with the flashing lights turned on. Two male police officers were conversing with two women, one looked to be a middle-aged business woman, and the other was a teenage girl. I cautiously back up and hide behind the chain link fence I was walking by, while staying close enough to the corner so I could still overhear the conversation. From what I gathered, the teenager was babysitting the other woman's daughter and at some point brought the child onto the porch. The teenager stumbled over her words as she tried to explain how a two-year-old was left _so_ unsupervised that she managed to walk all the way down the street and leave the cul-de-sac without her noticing until it was too late. I look down at the child as I think to myself, _damn. You're a regular rugrat, aren't you_, I ask in reference to one of my favorite cartoon shows from my childhood whose plot revolved around bad parenting. Running out of excuses, the girl finally confesses that she had friends over and that one of them was a particular boy.

At this point I was just prying at useless information. I needed confirmation that this was the child they were looking for. From the safety of my hiding place, I enter the business woman's mind. Apparently she was a happily married lawyer with her partner being a nurse. Unable to have a child of their own they decided to adopt. My investigation then brings me to a recent memory of her and her partner, both African-American women, leaning over a baby crib. In the crib laid their beautiful baby girl of Asian decent, the same child I held in my grasp. Having all the proof I needed I cautiously emerge from behind the gate to the corner of the sidewalk. I place the child on the ground before anyone notices me and I bark twice. The four concerned humans stop their conversation and look in my direction. The child's mother immediately barrels past the cops and runs towards us.

_That's my cue_, I thought to myself as I turn back up the street and start trotting away. I could hear her crying with joy and relief behind me as she picked up the child and violently kissed her cheeks. Before I was out of earshot I overhear the little girl say, "bye-bye, Doggy". I stop in my tracks and turn my head back at her. Her little hand waved at me. Her mother then turns to face me and clicks her tongue. Puzzled, I cock my head to the side, and she clicks her tongue a second time. She was calling me over. Slowly and cautiously I approach the two of them. The woman lowers herself to her knees and sticks out her free palm at me. I play my part as the sweet stray as I sniff her palm and then lick it. She then takes her palm and scratches the back of my ears. In response, I close my eyes and wag my tail in delight. I may have been a werewolf, but there was no denying it, it felt good getting my ears scratched, and this woman had magic fingers. Her daughter, trying to mimic her action, reached out trying to pet me. When she couldn't reach, I lift up my muzzle and lick her little fingers. She smiles a wide smile in response.

"Is that your child, Ma'am", asked one of the officers now joining us.

_Naw, Dumbass. This is her _other_ daughter that went missing on this exact same day that she forgot to mention earlier_, I think to myself as I look at the ignorant cop with my head cocked to the side. The lady nods her head.

"In that case, have a good evening", he says as he tips his cap. He and his partner turn and walk back to the porch to confront the babysitter. I overhear a conversation about contacting her parents beginning when another car pulls up. The child's other mother had just arrived on the scene.

"Is she alright", she asks as she rushes towards us.

"She's fine, Liv." Liv then takes one look at me and goes ballistic.

"Hey! Get going! Ah", she screams as she flails her purse at me.

_Guess you're more of a cat person_, I think to myself as I start to walk away.

"Come on, Babe, don't be like that. That little dog brought her back."

"Little? There is nothing _little_ about that, that thing."

_That's it, I'm outta here._ I pick up the pace as my walk turns into a trot. With my detour now taken care of, I return to my path I was originally on and head towards the forest. I run for about a mile or two into the forest's depths until I reach an area that consisted of several large trees growing so close to each other that their braches were tangled together with one another, which was fortunate because it was then that a crash of thunder sounded and the rain began to fall. _Score_, I think to myself as I run under the tangled branches.

I hadn't been there for a full two minutes when I heard a strange humming sound. It sounded close, and was getting closer, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. Eventually the sound got loud enough to where I could pinpoint the direction it was coming from. I look directly at the source of the sound, but actually saw nothing.

_Invisible, maybe_, I ask myself trying to figure out why I could hear the sound but not see where it was coming from. When I thought it was close enough I bound forward once and then pounce forward as hard as I can. At the last minute, Cyborg deactivates the T-Car's cloaking mechanism and exclaims in shock as he swerves out of the way. With my target now gone, I crash into the ground and tumble for a moment, finally stopping when I landed on my side in a mud puddle. Cyborg then steps out of the car wearing a large, yellow poncho with a matching set of boots and a hat and walks towards me as I rise to my paws and shake out my fur.

"Man, look what you almost made me do", said Cyborg as he points at his car, only inches away from the nearest tree. "You almost made me crash my car."

"How's that _my_ fault?"

"Who lunges at a moving car?"

"Who sneaks up behind a werewolf in an invisible car?" Cyborg then lifts his index finger in the air and opens his mouth as if preparing to say something in response. When he thought of nothing he started to laugh.

"Hahaha, you've got a point there. My bad."

Stunned at his immediate acceptance of losing our little argument, I ask him, "is there a _reason_ why you're following me?"

"Man, I've been following you since that dog from the alley."

"Why?"

"Be glad to explain, but wouldn't you like to get out of the rain first", he asks as he points to the tangled trees behind him. I nod my head and trot behind him to the dry cover of the branches. Once there, I shake my fur once again attempting to rid it of as much water as possible. "I come offering a proposal."

"A proposal", I ask in suspicion. He then reaches into his pocket a pulls out a roundish, yellow communication device with the letter "T" on it and tosses it into the air. Since it was high enough, I immediately Change back to my human form and catch the device in my right hand. I pull it down towards me to get a better look at it.

"You bet."

"I've got questions", I challenged.

"I've got answers."

"Who are you? And why are you giving me this?"

"Don't you know? They call me Cyborg."

"I'm aware of that, but who _are_ you? Who are any of you for that matter?"

"The five of us are a team of young heroes with the self-appointed duty of protecting the city from evildoers and criminals. We've been dubbed the name, Teen Titans."

"I see. And this proposal of yours…."

"We'd like to offer you a spot on the team."

"Why, exactly? I haven't really proven anything after having met you all. And the last time I checked I was unwelcome in the eyes of a certain member of your team. How do you know you can trust me?"

"A fair point. This might be a good time to point out that the idea was suggested by Robin."

"Robin sent you?"

"He sure did. He thinks you have potential, and I trust Robin with my life."

"That doesn't really answer my question all that much. I may have potential, but you all hardly know me. One doesn't simply bring home a werewolf off the streets. What's the catch?"

"Just that you move into the tower to live and train with us."

"I gave no reason for any of you to trust me as much as you're doing, yet you not only offer me a job, but a place to live. Why? Why does Robin want me on the team?"

"You'll have to ask Robin yourself."

"Fine, then what say you?"

"Well as I said before, I trust Robin and his judgements. I found you earlier back at the alley with that dog, but you seemed busy at the moment and you didn't notice I was there, so I just watched and observed."

"So I get ambushed and you just sit and watch?"

"Chill, dude, it was just a broom, which you destroyed by the way." I chuckle a little. "I also saw how you handled that situation with that little girl. Not to mention the way you practically single-handedly scared off Johnny yesterday. There's a Titan in there", he says as he points to me. "Besides, it'd be nice to have somebody with some common ground to talk to." It was then my mother's comment about my white friends echoed in my mind. As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. Though I loved my friends and play siblings more than anything, the majority of them were white. The few black friends I did have I met under special circumstances and even then, the majority of them I wasn't entirely close with. "Cyborg to Wolfman, come in Wolfman", he says as he sticks out his right hand for me to shake as if to ask, "do we have a deal?".

It was then that I knew what I had to do. Though it was Raven that truly was my main interest when it came to the Teen Titans, Cyborg, seemed to be a cool guy as well. He was beginning to see me for who I was and was offering me a new home. Though I knew I'd have a lot to prove, and that there was maybe more to this than I realized, at the end of the day I literally had nothing and these young people would also give me an excuse to get to know Raven. There was also a chance that maybe through being connected with this team, I could get closer to Doctor Light and save Taiyo and the others. With my mind made up, I Change my right hand into a paw and grasp Cyborg's hand.

"Wolfman to Cyborg, reporting for duty."


	9. Awkward Silence

As I slept, curled up on the Titans' couch, my mind replayed events from only hours ago. Once Cyborg had successfully recruited me to the team, I was invited back to Titans Tower. Since I didn't have the chance to explore the tower completely, or even enter or exit through the front door, it took me a little by surprise as to how legitimately these young people took their job.

I thought about how the garage was filled with equipment, spare parts, and all sorts of goodies that'd make a mechanic feel like it was Christmas everyday. I thought about how Cyborg had made a pit-stop to pick up three pizzas from Pizza Corner prior to meeting me in the forest, and I thought about how he had a grin as cheesy as the pizzas when I called him out on it. I thought about how I went to bed with a half-empty stomach because I chose to eat a mere two slices due to how nervous I was (my mutation made it to where my minimum of pizza slices I could eat was four or five, but I didn't want to come off as a pig to the Titans). And I thought about how awkward I felt upon being ignored the majority of the night.

I remembered how I spent the entire night in my wolf form because my nerves were through the roof and I stayed as a wolf in an attempt to make myself feel more comfortable. Plus, I was secretly hoping that a wolf being in the room would muster up some acknowledgement. Unfortunately it didn't.

Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately began arguing over something so trivial and minuscule that I to this day don't even remember what it was they were arguing about. Starfire continued to ignore and avoid me, and huffed whenever we happened to make eye contact. As for Robin, when the pizzas had arrived and everyone began eating, he immediately swiped away four slices for himself. He wrapped up two of them and stuck them in the fridge for later, and brought the other two with him back to whatever room he was previously in and disappeared for the night. The only person I felt acknowledged that I was there was Raven, her hood still down, but even that made me nervous as well.

Usually, even when I met new people, even if I was nervous, I managed to stay cool, calm, and collected throughout and at the ready for anything to pop off. With Raven, I felt I was under a microscope. It's not that it was a bad thing, after all I wanted her to notice me, but that didn't mean it was any less nerve-racking. Her large, violet eyes scanned the room quietly among all of the chaos the boys were making, while periodically locking eye contact with me. Each time she did, I broke away first. It was easier to look into her eyes before, probably because it was only us when we had met. Now it was intimidating as Hell. I think the only reason why she didn't pry was because as she was doing that, Starfire kept chatting her ear off. I remember how interesting the girls' dynamic with each other was as it seemed to consist of Starfire excitedly chatting up a storm much like a television stereotype of very young high school girls chatting with their girlfriends, while Raven, still with her monotoned look on her face, responded with an equally monotoned voice as if she were a mother humoring the pointless and random conversation her toddler was attempting to have.

After everyone had eaten their fill, most everyone anyway, the guys immediately went straight back to video games, some new one, at least to me, called "Mega Monkeys 4". Raven went over into a corner of the room and began to knit. What she was knitting remained a mystery to me, she had knitted enough for it be visually seen as something, but not enough to be identified yet, and I dared not attempt to read her mind. I look over at another corner of the room to see Starfire cradling some pink, fleshy thing while she talked sweetly to it as if it were a human baby. When she caught me looking in their direction as I tried to figure out what it was she was holding, she pauses from her sweet talking and glares at me as her eyes burn green from her powers. The message was clear, so I didn't pry.

It was at that moment that I looked around the room once more to see that once again, everyone was occupied with their own activity. I dropped back down to all fours and headed to the elevator. Once there, I hit the desired button with my tail as the elevator closes and rises to the top of the tower. The elevator stops as the little bell rings and the doors open. I pause for a moment to take a deep breath. The air was still moist from the storm as the smell of wet concrete flooded my nose. I walked out of the elevator and through the doorway that led to the rooftop. I then turn right and walk towards the spot I was when I first met Raven, passing by the damage we caused, still unrepaired, on the way.

When I reach the edge of the rooftop, I look up to see the moon. She wasn't full anymore, but she was full enough to where the human eye couldn't tell the difference. My tail wagged at the sight of the moon. It was large and bright, and the sky was clear without so much as a cloud in it, the irony of how beautiful the evening sky looks only moments after a storm. Though all werewolves had some connection to the moon, me personally, the moon was almost like a lover to me. I loved seeing her, and I could sense whenever she was near or full. She made me feel joy despite whatever happened prior to seeing her.

I lower my rear to the ground and sit as I think to myself, _dare I act out the cliche? Hell yeah!_ I then threw my head back and began howling my heart out. I wasn't singing anything that could be translated, howling didn't work like that. Wolves sang feelings and emotions. If I had to compare a wolf's howl to a musical instrument, I would choose to compare it to a harmonica. Imagine what a harmonica sounds like when the musician is happy. Imagine he's playing an upbeat country song with a lot of energy that makes you want to get up and dance. Imagine what that sounds like. Now imagine what that same harmonica would sound like if he was playing the blues. Imagine the sad and depressing chords coming from the instrument as it feels the world around you seems to turn dark and gray. Same instrument, different emotions, that's how I looked at my howling.

With the moon as my audience I sang whatever was on my mind. I sang about Doctor Light and my mother and how they ruined my life. I sang about Jump City and the hospitality they'd shown me that can be described as rude, to say the least. I sang about Starfire and the origins of our feud. I sang about my powers and how I missed being able to access all of them. And I sang about Raven, and how I could feel her just as easily as I could feel the moon. It was then that, as if on cue, Raven appeared behind me.

It wouldn't have bothered me so much if it weren't for the fact that she didn't say anything. I discovered she was there because I could once again sense her darkness and hear her heartbeat. I was so preoccupied with my howling that even now, I have no idea how long she'd been standing there. I look at her into her eyes, once again feeling embarassed and bashful. I then lower my ears and break contact once again as I turn back to look forward out over the ocean. I don't know what I was expecting from her at that point, but it was then that she walked over to my right and sat down beside me. Her legs hung over the edge of the tower. I could feel my heart racing faster and faster as I looked down at her legs out of the corners of my eyes. I wasn't sure if her pale skin actually glistened and shimmered in the moonlight, or if I was just blown away by her legs and how beautifully sculpted they were. Either way they were stunning. I quickly return to looking forward before she notices as I think to myself, _smooth, dude. Day three and you've already developed a fetish._

Raven, like me, just looked over the ocean and said nothing. I also said nothing. We literally just sat like that for a couple of hours. No talking, no flirting, no looking at one another, just sat there in silence, but surprisingly it wasn't awkward. I mean it was at first, but after a while the feelings of awkwardness just melted away. I was enjoying her company. Raven managed to take an interaction that most people would find boring and awkward, and make it into something enjoyable. I would've been perfectly content with sitting there with her all night. However, like two or three hours into our quiet time, I heard Raven hold back a yawn.

Unable to hold it back, I yawned in response, though I saw it as an opportunity to break the ice a little and show off. I yawned as big as I could, flashing as many of my sharp teeth as possible. When the yawn was coming to a close, I violently shook my head for a second as if to shake the feeling off. Though it was visually an interesting sight to see my head shake like that, truthfully that part wasn't for show. It was some weird reflex I apparently picked up as a child, so now I couldn't not do it. I heard Raven chuckle a little upon seeing me spaz out, giving me a bit of a confidence boost. To keep the energy going I rise back onto my paws and turn to face towards the doorway behind us. I then lift my back left leg straight behind me and my front right leg in front of me. While balancing on my other two legs, I then turned the underside of my front right paw out to where it was halfway between facing my left and facing upward. I look back at Raven as I bow my head and motion my paw towards the doorway as if to ask her the intended question, _may I walk you to your room? _Just because I was a wolf at the time, didn't mean I couldn't be a gentleman.

A smile appears on her face as she rises to her feet. My tail wags in delight as I realize that her smile was a litter bigger than the last time I got her to smile. She then hangs her arms in front of her, with one hand on top of the other, and then bows back. She then starts walking back towards the doorway, with me down at her feet walking right by her side as if I were her faithful pet.

Most other animagi would laugh at or be offended by my pet-like gestures, but personally I find them to be fun. Pets tended to be pampered, adored, and loved in ways that other people don't experience from each other. The connections between a person and an animal are always unique and powerful. The bond that people and animals can form tugs at the heart strings and makes them feel, even if only for a moment, as equals. When that little girl got separated from her mothers, she saw me not as a wild animal, but as an animal friend. She and I, though for only a short while, bonded, and I genuinely cared for that child in that moment as if she were my own cub. I fell in love with that little girl, and because of that, she would be in my memories for the rest of my life, and that was what I wanted to have with Raven. The fur on my spine shoots up as I realize what I was thinking.

_Did I just say that? Did I just say that I wanted to fall in love with Raven? _When I came to, we had just finished walking down the stairs, and down the South Hall and were right outside of her room. She opens the automatic door and pauses for a moment. She then looks back at me as I lowered my rear to the ground to sit again. In an attempt to make myself look more dog-like, I wag my tail and begin to pant. I assumed it worked because her smile got the tiniest bit bigger. She squats down to meet me eye-to-eye. She then reaches out with her right hand and scratches me behind the ears. If Liv's partner had magic fingers, then Raven's were fucking orgasmic. I closed my eyes and just lost it. My tail was wagging out of control and my right leg couldn't be stopped. My body awkwardly shifts as my right leg shoots out from underneath my body and starts thumping on the ground. Though she was only scratching my ears, in my mind we were reenacting the scene from "Bambi" when Thumper got kissed for the first time by the female bunny and his foot goes ballistic.

However, our moment was short-lived because the resulting noise from my leg grabbed Beast Boy's attention. Raven's green nextdoor neighbor pokes his head out of his room as Raven and I awkwardly back off from one another.

"Um, what was that noise?"

"What noise", asked Raven sharply, her voice and attitude now returned to her usual monotone.

"That thumping noise. What's going on out here?"

"We didn't hear anything", I added.

"How could you not? It was like an earthquake." Raven, now becoming annoyed, started losing her cool a little.

"If there was a noise, we would've heard it. But we didn't hear it, so there obviously wasn't a noise." Beast Boy, finally taking the hint responded awkwardly.

"O-kay then. I'm just going to go back to bed now." And with that Beast Boy retreated to his room, however Raven was still a bit ticked off. The mood was gone. Raven then turns back to her open door and walks through. Before closing it she looks down at me one more time and smiles once again, this time with a wink. As her door closed I sat there for a minute thinking about what I had mentioned to myself earlier about wanting to fall in love with Raven.

_Welp, too late. It already happened_, I think to myself as I walk down the hallway to make my way to the couch.


	10. Wolf in the Room

I replayed the events of my time with Raven over and over and over again, until suddenly a delicious smell tickles my nose. My tail wagged once I realized what the smell was. I smelt pancakes. I twitch my ears as I tried to listen for the source of the smell. Somebody was in the kitchen, and they were still cooking them. The back of the couch kept me hidden as I lay curled up on the cushions with my eyes closed. My original plan was to just listen and spy with my ears while I waited for the others to come into the living room, but the mystery of who was cooking was quickly solved as Starfire burst into the room.

"Oh, Raven! What a glorious way to start the day!" Upon discovering that it was Raven cooking, my eyes shot open. While still lying down, I turn my head to the back of the couch.

Still wanting to spy, I thought to myself, _I wonder if I can still do _this, in reference to my x-ray vision. I chuckle to myself a little as my yellow eyes turn purple and the couch suddenly becomes see-through in my eyes. Starfire was floating by the dining tables, which had the restaurant booth seats, over by the living room entrance's left (my right). To the right (my left), Raven was cooking over the stove, her back facing Starfire. My heartbeat starts increasing slightly upon seeing her. Starfire goes on to compare Raven's pancakes to something known as a glorka roach, which apparently is known for being "burnt on the outside, yet runny on the inside". Before I could think too far into that comparison, Beast Boy and Cyborg run into the room to join Starfire in a sort of panic.

"Hold up, time out", shouted Cyborg as he and Beast Boy crossed their forearms as if they were referees in a sports game calling a penalty of some kind.

"Friends, what seems to be your troubles", asked Starfire.

"The trouble is that Raven is making pancakes", said Beast Boy. "And in case you need further clarification on that, here's a few reasons why we should all be concerned. Reason one, Raven making pancakes implies that she's being nice, and she's never nice." I could see Raven beginning to blush a little as I think to myself, _that's a bit harsh, Beast Boy._

"Reason number two", added Cyborg, "Raven can't cook!"

_That's even more harsh._

"And finally", began Beast Boy, "reason number three, the last time she cooked pancakes…." I noticed Raven's eyes starting to glow red as her pupils and irises slowly disappeared into the crimson abyss. Before she erupted with rage, Starfire interrupted.

"Friends, please. Raven only wishes to prepare a meal for us, and as her friends we should cherish this surprise. And I wish not to discuss the events that occured the last time we were graced with Raven's cooking." With that last comment Starfire's face started to light up with giddy joy. The boys look at one another, still suspicious of Raven's nice gesture. They look back at Starfire and simply nod their heads in mutual agreement as they take their seats at one of the two tables. I look back over at Raven. Her eyes were still glowing red and she still looked irritated at the boys for their blunt comments. Not wanting there to be a heated fight, especially considering how Beast Boy interrupted us the previous night, I yawn as loud as I could so that they all could hear.

Still shielded by the couch, I could see the glow from Starfire's face instantly disappear as Raven's face was washed over by a wave of relief as her glowing red eyes turned to their normal look and her gorgeous violet irises were once again visible. I "deactivate" my x-ray vision as I violently shake my head after having yawned. I then lift my head up over the back of the couch and smack my lips, if wolves had lips. I then rise to my paws, leap over the couch, and do a quick cat stretch before walking over to the others.

To my right were the boys sitting at one of the tables. Looking from the kitchen, the table on the left was big enough for three people (two facing the kitchen, and one more facing out towards where the couch was as the table was shaped like the letter "L") to sit at without having to pull up another chair. The table on the right was big enough for two people to sit side by side.

I look over to my left towards the kitchen to see Starfire and Raven preparing plates for everyone. Raven placed two pancakes onto each plate, while Starfire then grabbed the plates and floated them to the table. Starfire made three trips from the kitchen, placing two plates onto the tables during each of the first two trips. On the third, she carried with her a bowl, and two bottles. She placed a bottle of syrup, and (for some reason) mustard on the smaller table, and drops the bowl with two pancakes in it onto the floor by one of the tables. I walk over to it and discover that the bowl in question was a pet's food bowl with the word "Silkie" written on it.

_Now this is just mean_, I thought to myself upon realizing Starfire's gesture. I look up at the others to see that everyone else was going along with it.

The boys were awkwardly trying to muscle down Raven's pancakes, which apparently were _that_ bad, and Starfire and Robin, having now joined us, were awkwardly trying to eat their pancakes with one hand, while their free hands had their fingers locked with the other's under the table. A quiet growl rumbles in my chest as I look at Starfire, now looking completely innocent and harmless, as she flirts with her masked beau. Once again, I felt ignored, by everybody except Raven.

She was leaning against the kitchen counter with a mug of what I assumed was tea in her hands based solely on the smell. Though I could tell that she knew I was there, she stared down into the mug as her face continued to burn a slight red as she still was blushing. I look around the room once more at the others, and it was then that I discovered why she was blushing.

With the exception of Starfire, who happily ate the pancakes, with the mustard oddly enough, without hesitation, none of the others had hardly put a dent into their meals. I look down at the two pancakes I was given, and I could see why the boys were giving Raven such a hard time. The pancakes were blackened and crusty on their edges, with the exception of the whitish globs scattered on each one. I look back up at Raven. She kept her usual monotoned look, and was still blushing, but I sensed a touch of sadness in her face. It was then that I picked up Silkie's bowl, whoever that Hell that was, in my teeth and walked over to take my seat beside Cyborg in the "oddball" spot of the larger table facing into the living room. I could feel everybody stopping to stare at me as I place the bowl onto the table and lower my rear onto the cushion. I glance up at Starfire for a moment as I think to myself, _since I'm just an animal to you…._

I reach forward and grab one of the pancakes in my teeth and toss it into the air. As it falls, I open my jaws as wide as they could go. The pancake falls into my jaws as I begin to eat the whole thing in one bite. It was times like these that I was grateful that my lycanthropy remedied my large appetite and love of drama and showmanship with a pair of large jaws. I stare ahead and chew the pancake without saying anything. The Titans watch in awe as they awaited my response to Raven's cooking. Once I had finished chewing, I swallowed and smacked my "lips" for a moment to let the taste settle on my tongue. I wait a moment more, and then smile the biggest smile my wolf form would allow as I gleefully barked twice in as high a pitch as my lungs would allow. My tail also began to wag at this point in delight. I then open my jaws as my serpent tongue combined with my dark powers stretches across both tables and grabs the bottle of syrup. As my tongue reels back into my jaws I clamp them around the bottle as a baseball player would close his mit to catch a pop-fly. I tilt my head to the side as syrup pours out of the bottle and into the bowl. I tilt my head to the other side as I placed the bottle onto the table when I had finished. I reach my head forward again as I dive into my second pancake. After nibbling at it for a bit, I lift my head up again for a moment and gleefully bark a couple times more. As I dive back into the pancake, the Titans began commenting about how brave I was or how I was trying to suck up because I was the new guy, as if I actually was a dog that couldn't understand the neighboring conversations.

Though I was sucking up to Raven and trying to make her feel better, truthfully I thoroughly enjoyed her pancakes. I believe Starfire said it best when she described them as "burnt on the outside, yet runny on the inside". Though the brain boggles as it tried to figure out how Raven managed to burn a pancake that much while somehow preserving pockets of uncooked pancake batter on the inside, my tastebuds were on vacation as I ate. Somehow, I found this weird variation of a pancake to taste good. True, the taste of raw pancake batter is usually never ideal, but in this case, the crunchiness of the outside of the pancake complimented it.

As I continued to eat, I noticed Raven out the corner of my eye, her smile, though smaller, stretching across her face. I look up to see that the other boys had donated their pancakes to either me or Starfire. As I notice Robin giving his pancakes to Starfire, I am reminded that I was hoping to talk to him about my being recruited to the team. I lift up my head and lick syrup from my "lips" as I open my mouth to speak to him.

"Hey, Robin….", I started. However, I was interrupted when the room started to flash red and the alarm from before began to sound. I look around at the others and notice that their communicators had all started to flash as well.

"Titans, trouble", shouts Robin as he leaps out of his seat and runs out of the room. Starfire and Beast Boy follow right behind him. Raven pauses for a moment and looks at me. She then motions her head towards the door as her powers pull her cloak's hood over her head, covering the top half of her face. She flies out of the room as Cyborg places his right hand on my shoulder.

"Go time", he says as he scoots out of the booth and runs after her. I quickly run over to the sink in the kitchen and rinse the syrup off of my muzzle. With no time to thoroughly dry it, I shake my head for a moment and run out of the room as I think to myself, _note to self, don't eat syrup while in wolf form._ I ignore the elevator and run down the stairs eight floors to the garage. I arrive just in time to see Robin mounting his motorcycle, which Cyborg referred to as the R-Cycle, and Cyborg revving up the T-Car. The garage door opens as Robin and Cyborg shoot out of the garage. Beast Boy then morphs into a pteranodon as I think to myself, _he can Change into dinosaurs, too?_ The green pteranodon flaps its wings and takes to the air as it flies out of the garage after the two vehicles, with the girls flying right behind him. I run out of the garage and down the main road as I race to catch up with the Titans.

I wasn't worried about not being fast enough to catch them. Part of growing up as an Elemental werewolf was that I trained myself to have an incredible amount of stamina. I trained myself for years to be able to sprint long distances, so the run into Jump City was a light jog for me.

After a few moments, I finally catch up with the others. A mutual look of shock passed over their faces as they saw me running at the same speed they were traveling in as Lobomon as opposed to flying alongside them as Gizamon. As the six of us raced down the highway towards the city, it was Robin, again, straight to business, who broke the silence and spoke first.

"Listen up, Team. We've got a burglary on our hands."

"Who and where", asked Cyborg as his left arm and his head poked out of the window of the T-Car.

"The H.I.V.E. Five. They're raiding the museum."

"Why must they attempt to steal from there again", asked Starfire flying over Robin.

"Don't know, but we're about to find out." Robin then revs his bike and speeds ahead a bit. The rest of us speeding up to catch up with him. Right before we reached the museum, Robin gave us our orders. "Wolfman, you stay on guard as lookout. The rest of you, divide and conquer." As soon as he gave our orders, I immediately came to a halt. I watched as the others sped ahead to the museum a few yards down the street in front of us as I noticed the recurring pattern of being ignored.

""Stay on guard as lookout"? What am I looking out for?" I growl to myself as I immediately answer my own question. "You know, Robin, if you wanted me to sit this out, all you had to do was say so", I said as I continue to run towards the museum.

Once I reach the entrance, I lower myself to the ground and cock my head to the side as I listen to the conversations going on inside. I couldn't hear any actual fighting yet, it sounded moreso like the Titans and the H.I.V.E. Five were just trash talking so far.

_Since I'm not supposed to fight, I'll do some more espionage._ I open up another portal on the wall of the building and jump through. I jump through another portal moments later, which brought me up to the rafters of the museum's Ancient Egyptian exhibit, where everyone was about to do battle. I had just picked out the perfect spot for observing when Robin cried out.

"Titans, go!"

"Attack Pattern Alfa", cried the littlest member of the opposing fivesome as they all separated and each started to do battle with a single Titan one-on-one.

Robin's opponent wore a red jump suit with black bands around his waist and wrists. He also had on a pair of black goggles, and on his chest was a white circle with a black outline. In the center of the circle was a black division sign, as in mathemathics. As Robin pulled out his metal bo staff from his utility belt, his opponent began to multiply. Seeing him do that might've looked a bit intimidating if it weren't for the fact that he kept talking to himself, or rather himselves in this case.

"Ready to go, Billy? Ready if you are, Billy. How 'bout you, Billy? You know it, Billy!" Robin, usually cool, calm, and collected, obviously lost his patience with Billy as he lunged at one of them.

_I don't blame him for his frustration. I, too, was growing tired of Billy's constant blabbing. _Robin swung his staff in a wide sweep. He missed his original target, but struck three others in the process. The Billys then run at Robin trying to surround him, but constantly failed to do so as Robin would just as frequently out-maneuver one or more of the Billys with his highly-developed martial arts skills that he was known for, complimented by the occasional appearance of a birdarang.

Cyborg's opponent was the little one who had ordered his team's attack plans. Based on that alone, I assumed he was the one that called the shots. He wore a green jumpsuit with built-in shoes, green goggles, and had a harness connected to a jet pack on his back. As he fought Cyborg, he would push a button or two on the metal appliance in the center of his suit and the harness on his back would sort of, for lack of a better word, transform. One moment it was a jet pack, then in another moment it was a robotic pair of rocket-powered bat wings, and then another moment it turned into four mechanical spider legs. He also complimented his shifting tech with added features such as holographic clones that appeared in battle alongside him, as if he had the ability to multiply just like Billy did.

As Cyborg struggled to out-muscle the tiny one's spider legs, I look over at Beast Boy and his fight. His opponent was a giant to say the very least. He was about seven feet tall and about 300 pounds of pure muscle. He wore a black unitard with the sleeves cut off with yellow designs with circles in them stretching across his torso, wrists, and ankles. His hair was long and brown, and he had a bit of a goatee under his chin. His appearance alone was not something to take lightly, and he backed it up with his strength.

Beast Boy charged at him in the form of a green triceratops, and the big guy simply punched him square on the "head plate" in between his two horns. Expecting Beast Boy to bulldoze straight through it, I was a little shocked to see Beast Boy roar in pain as the large lizard was flown backwards into the wall behind him. His opponent then runs at him and leaps onto his back and mounts him as if he were at a rodeo. To make matters worse, Beast Boy plays right into his hands and morphs into a bull as he tries to buck him off. The large monster of a man simply laughs in enjoyment.

_Nice going, Beast Boy._

I look over at the girls to see that they were facing the remaining two members of the H.I.V.E. Five as a sort of tag team. Their opponents consisted of one young man in a green and white unitard with a green helmet with a single comically large eyeball on it, and another young person with grayish-blue skin, red eyes without pupils or irises, and an outfit that, in all honesty, looked like he had attempted to recreate Batman's uniform and failed. It took me a minute, but I eventually realized that the wannabe Batman was indeed male. With all of the details like the cape, and the bat ears which I honestly thought made him look silly, I couldn't tell at first.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven as she fired a stream of dark energy at their opponents. Starfire simultaneously fired two lasers from her eyes at them as well. Their opponents counterattacked by mimicking the exact same attacks. The one-eyed boy fired a laser from the eye on his helmet, while the one in black fired a stream of dark energy of his own. The four blasts collided in midair, causing an explosion large enough to send them all flying backwards as a cloud of smoke filled the room.

When the smoke had cleared, I look back down at the Titans to see the fights continuing. It was at this point that I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was a mystery wild card, if that, and did a little mind reading. I spoke to myself in a sort of inner monologue as I went over all that I learned.

_Okay, so in their respective order, these guys are known as Billy Numerous, Gizmo, Mammoth, See-More, and Kyd Wykkyd. They call themselves the H.I.V.E. Five, and apparently are former students of the H.I.V.E. Academy, which I guess was a school for training villains. On a side note, their team seems to consist of three humans and two mutants._ That fact shocked me a little.

Obviously Gizmo was a human as shown by his dependence on his technology in battle, but See-More and Mammoth I assumed were mutants at first. The way See-More's helmet was designed, I thought he truly had only one eye. Much to my disappointment when I discovered that like Gizmo, See-More was simply a human who used technology to battle.

Mammoth on the other hand was, in my opinion, the most impressive member of their team. One doesn't just simply come across a human of that size and with _that_ much strength. I mean he had punched a fucking dinosaur. In my opinion he would've been more of a success as a body builder or fitness coach than as a villain.

Another disappointing detail I learned was that Gizmo was indeed the leader of the H.I.V.E. Five, which wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that he was just a bratty little kid. I didn't have to read his mind to find out how old he was, his dialogue told me plenty. Every other word that came out of his mouth was something along the lines of "snot-lickers" or "scuzz buckets".

_With powers like those of Mammoth's or Kyd Wykkyd's, why are these guys taking orders from this little brat? Better question, why am I taking orders from a team that constantly forgets I'm in the room?_ Upon asking myself that, I heard Cyborg scream.

When I came to I saw Cyborg pinned on his stomach with one of Gizmo's spider legs wedging into his back. Sparks of electricity surged from Cyborg's back and traveled up Gizmo's mechanical leg and into his systems on his own back. Gizmo laughed as his dirty trick caused Cyborg to shut down. As Cyborg lay still, quiet, and unconscious, Gizmo showed no sign of stopping his mechanical assault. I read his mind briefly and learned that he planned to completely devastate Cyborg's battery, which simply meant he was killing him. It was then that I also noticed that the other Titans were starting to lose their fights as well.

Beast Boy Changed back into his human form as Mammoth threw him into yet another wall, Robin, though still holding his own against the Billy army, was starting to lose his stamina, and if it weren't for the fact that the girls were teamming up and defending one another, they would've been overpowered long ago.

_Okay, that's it! I've been on the sidelines for long enough!_ With a roar I launched myself off of the rafters towards Gizmo. Stunned looks appeared on our enemies' faces as they saw a random black wolf leaping at their leader out of seemingly nowhere. My yellow eyes burn purple as I imitate Starfire's laser vision and shoot two purple lasers at Gizmo, which cut off the two front spider legs. He shrieks for a moment as he leans back trying to balance on the two remaining legs.

It was then that I opened my right paw and grabbed the top of his head (my large paws and his tiny size were the perfect combination in this case. To me it was like the equivalent of palming a basketball). He falls forward as I land on the ground on my hind legs, Gizmo's head still in my grasp. I roar again as I extend my right arm and swing Gizmo around the room. Beast Boy, Robin, Raven, and Starfire all dodged out of the way as Gizmo's two spider legs struck all of our enemies in a single sweep. The force was strong enough to force all of the Billys to return back to one body. As expected, Mammoth recovered from the blow easily and charged at me. It was then that I chucked Gizmo at him. Mammoth hesitated and fell over just as Gizmo crashed into his face. While the H.I.V.E. Five were on the ground recovering, I took the opportunity to speak with the Titans. I used my aura to summon a white light, which filled the room, causing me to black out.

When I came to moments later, I was in an endless white abyss. It was like that episode of "Spongebob Squarepants" when Squidward broke a time machine he stumbled upon and accidentally traveled to Nowhere. I look down at myself for a moment as I notice that I had returned to my human form. I look around the abyss and notice that to my right were the Titans with the exception of Cyborg, conversing with one another with confusion in reference as to why we were all transported to this empty place. Their conversation ceases as they all look in my direction when I walk over to join them.

"Glad to see you're okay", said Robin. "Did you happen to see what happened to Cyborg or the H.I.V.E. Five?"

"They're not here, it's just us", I responded.

"How are you so sure of their absence", asked Starfire suspiciously.

"I'm sure because I'm the one that brought you all here." I quickly continued before they took the opportunity to bombard me with accusatory questions. "This is the Elemental Conference Room, a dimension I created for the purpose of speaking with my associates telepathically."

"So, we're in your brain right now? Huh, and Raven says _my_ head is empty", said Beast Boy with a cheeky grin.

"This is but a single corridor of my mind. It's only purpose is to allow the Elementals to communicate with one another so there was no point in filling this dimension with anything", I responded defensively.

"But that light swallowed us all, so shouldn't we all be present", asked Starfire.

"And why did you leave Cyborg all alone", added Robin.

"Nobody was left behind, Robin. Technically none of us are even here in this dimension." Looks of confusion appeared on their faces. "Your in my mind, remember? Everything you're seeing is an illusion. The light that brought you here, the vast emptiness of this dimension, even your own bodies, they're all visions being projected into your minds."

"So essentially, you're tricking us into thinking we've been transported to another place", asked Robin, now also sounding suspicious.

"Essentially, yes. However, the conversation we're having is very real. As we speak, time has been slowed down in the real world so that we can talk. When you return, time will continue as it normally did, this entire experience will feel like a dream, and everything we just talked about will be implanted into your brain as an instant memory."

"So you can Change into a werewolf, _and_ Change into a snake, _and_ grow wings, _and_ run super fast, _and_ teleport, and now you can bend time and space? Dude, that's _so_ not fair", whined Beast Boy.

"Okay, now that we understand how and why we're here, let's cut to the chase. What's on your mind", asked Robin. Upon hearing a pun in Robin's question, Beast Boy imitates a rimshot. Raven then slaps him upside the head once again.

"I insist that you Titans fall back."

"Wait, what", asked Beast Boy.

"What do you mean "fall back"", asked Robin.

"The H.I.V.E. Five are wearing you all down, and that's probably because you've been playing right into their plans. It's quite clear that they've faced you all several times in the past, and this time they came prepared to single you all out so that they could defeat you one at a time, and it's working."

"I appreciate your concern, but we've defeated these guys many times before, and we can easily do it again", said Robin. "We'll keep our opponents busy while you take over for Cyborg."

"I beg to differ. Billy has been wearing you out since the fighting began, the only thing keeping the girls from being over-powered is the fact that they're working as a team to defend themselves, Beast Boy will be lucky if he walks away from this without so much as a concussion, and in case you all aren't aware of the seriousness of Cyborg's condition, had I not intervened moments ago, Gizmo would've killed him." I could hear their hearts drop as looks of concern appear on the faces of the Titans.

"You mean, Cy would be dead? Like dead-dead", asked Beast Boy.

"Not all damage done to machines can be repaired." Beast Boy's pointed ears begin to droop in response to my response. Robin prepared to speak again, but hesitated as he was cut off by Starfire.

"Then what are you suggesting? Shall we just retreat and surrender to our enemies, thus ignoring our responsibilities as the Teen Titans?"

"Star's got a point, Dude", added Beast Boy. "Besides, they need to pay for what they did to Cy".

"I understand, Beast Boy…", I began.

"No, you don't understand. My friend almost died", said Beast Boy, now becoming more aggressive. "Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you, but it does to me." This was the part in the conversation in which I snapped. My friends had been kidnapped, my bitchy mother abandoned me, I was recruited to a team that mostly ignores me, my reasons for my recruitment were unknown, I was constantly having to deal with Starfire's bullshit, and then there was that snarky remark. My chain had officially broken loose.

"'Doesn't mean anything'? You had no idea that Cyborg almost died until I told you! I brought you all here to try to reason and plan with you all so that you can defeat these lowlifes, and even went to the extreme of bending time and space to do so, and instead of acknowledging that, you're not only choosing to continue to waste time, but doing so by trying to guilt me about your injured friend? I've got news for you, you Sour Apple-flavored elf, not that it was any of your business but I care about my friends as well!

Whereas Cyborg is still very much alive, I've seen several of my friends get abducted, attacked, experimented on, and in some cases, die! In fact even as we speak right now, three out of six of the Elementals have been kidnapped! My best friends, and I don't even know if they're still alive! I joined this team of yours in the hopes that Doctor Light would come out of hiding and lead me to them, and so far it's like I'm not even here!

You all claim that I am a Titan, but you've dubbed me as this mystery wild card that you have no intention of even playing! If it's because I'm new to the team then just say that! Don't sit me on the fucking sidelines and expect me to just sit back and watch everyone else fighting and hope to get _some_ acknowledgement! I'm just as tough as any of you five, if not tougher, and I've proved it more than once already _long_ before I was recruited!

And back to the matter at hand, nothing about this fighting is worth dying over! Until we showed up here today, the only crime these guys were committing was petty theft, and that's it! Plus they're kicking all of your asses, to the point where one of you almost died! If their elementary schooled brat of a leader is willing to commit murder just to steal some jewels dug up from a mummy's tomb, then it's pretty clear that killing the rest of you is a possibility as well! It won't matter how angry you get at Cyborg's near-death experience if you're all pushing daisies with him!"

A growl rumbles in my chest as I struggle to catch my breath and look at the other Titans. Beast Boy and Starfire stared at me with shock on their faces, while the other two Titans expressed unexpected responses on their faces. Both Raven and Robin had small grins on their faces, the kind of grin you'd give to somebody after either hating them or knowing very little about them for so long and then suddenly being bombarded with a shit-load of information that forces you to look at them in a new light which causes you to spontaneously obtain some respect for them. Upon seeing Raven grinning, my growl stopped dead in its tracks.

"He's right", said Robin breaking the silence. I noticed a shocked and puzzled look on Starfire's face as she looks over at Robin. Robin then gave us our new orders. "Okay, Team, new plan. Beast Boy and I will grab Cyborg and take him out of the exhibit. Starfire, you and Raven will cover us until we reach the hallway. Once we're out, you two will keep an eye on Wolfman and be ready in case things get out of hand. Think you can handle them all", asked Robin as he now looks at me.

"Just be sure to wake up Cy ASAP. I wouldn't want him to miss out on all the fun", I said as my brown eyes turned yellow for effect. Robin nodded in agreement. My eyes burn purple once more as I begin to summon the white light again to take us back. It was at that moment that Raven finally spoke.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Her black aura flashed and filled the room just as the white light swallowed us once more. The clashing forces made this black out _way_ more intense than the previous one. When I came to I was standing on two legs, once again in wolf form. The H.I.V.E. Five had just gotten to their feet to prepare for a counterattack.

"Titans, go", shouts Robin as he and the other Titans dash towards Cyborg. As Raven passes me she places her left hand on my shoulder.

"Good luck", she says quietly as she then flies away. It was then that I remembered that she used her powers right before we left the Conference Room. Upon remembering that, my ears begin to twitch as I heard a familiar sound, Raven's heartbeat. I also noticed that just like before, I regained some power, except I gained back several of them. Raven managed to restore four of my forms, and four other miscellaneous powers I possessed. My tail wagged in excitement. I look back at the opposing five, as Mammoth stepped forward.

"Huh, I kinda like this new guy. This is gonna be fun", the giant said as he cracked his knuckles. He then yells with a thundering voice close enough to pass as a roar as he begins to charge at me. With a roar of my own, I begin to charge at him as well, but still on two legs. As the distance between us began to get smaller, I pull my right arm back as if preparing to punch him. Mammoth pulls back his right arm in response. When we got close enough to each other, Mammoth swings his right fist at me while opening his left palm as if to catch my punch. Unfortunately for him, as prepared as he was to catch my fist, my punch was merely a decoy.

I immediately drop to all fours as his fist rushes over my head. The speed alone was enough for my fur to catch a bit of a breeze. As Mammoth is trapped in the process of following his punch through, I launch myself upward as hard and fast as I could and headbutt the large brute right under his jaw. Mammoth screams in pain as he flies backward far enough to land on his back right in front of his teammates. Mammoth lies still as Gizmo rushes at me, his tech had morphed into his rocket-powered bat wings.

"You next", I ask, feeling a wee bit cocky.

"Blow it out your fudge hole, Crudface", he screams as his tech brings back his two spider legs, with four new ones to join it. "Eat metal, Mutt!" His six spider legs extend and point at me as he charges closer at me.

_Two can play at that game_, I thought to myself as my yellow eyes turn red and four new arms identical to my original two shoot out from the sides of my torso. I catch each of Gizmo's mechanical legs in one of my six paws as his jaw drops in astonishment. He tries to fly away using his robotic wings, but to no avail as I had more than enough physical strength to keep him from going anywhere. _Let's see how many volts that can handle_, I think to myself as I send volts of purple electricity through his spider legs and up to his tech controls on his back. Gizmo screams when he realizes what I was doing.

"No, wait! You're gonna short-circuit my systems!"

"That's the idea", I said as I amped up the voltage. Small clouds of smoke then began spewing from his back. It was at that moment that I yanked my arms out to my sides as hard as I could, ripping off his six mechanical legs with a single motion. Gizmo, now defenseless, falls at my feet. I grab him by the front of his jump suit and pull him to my face so that I could look into his eyes. "Now sleep", I said as I thought to myself, _Hypnosis!_

I didn't know how my eyes looked whenever I hypnotized people. Unlike the majority of my powers where I can tell they've Changed colors, there was no way of knowing how my eyes worked when I used my powers of hypnosis. My enemies obviously can't tell me, and whenever I tried observing for myself via another person's mind or a mirror, I would always fall for my own spell and fall asleep. The only evidence to prove that my spell worked was the fact that Gizmo immediately passed out. His head hung forward, his mouth hung open, and he began to snore. I drop Gizmo to the floor, the small child sleeping right through landing on his head, and look back at the others.

"And then there were three." It was at this point that the gruesome twosome, Kyd Wykkyd and See-More, stepped forward. See-More flipped a switch or something along those lines on his helmet as if he were James Marsden's Cyclops as his teammate instantly vanished into thin air. See-More's eye then began glowing red.

Obviously he was about to blast me so I moved to the side to prepare to dodge. However, Kyd Wykkyd was there waiting for me as he teleports to my side out of nowhere and sucker punches me in the jaw. As I stumbled backwards, Kyd Wykkyd teleports away just as See-More blasts me, but for some reason, I wasn't tossed into the air from it. I quickly realized that See-More had an option of setting his blasts to "stun", which made it harder to move each time he hit me with them.

I try to get out of the way again as See-More charged his blaster, but wound up falling for the same trick again. When See-More's second stun blast hit me, I fell to my knees. The two of them took this as an opportunity to go full force as I then got bombarded by their two-step attack over and over again. Kyd Wykkyd began teleporting around me randomly, punching and kicking me each time he did so. While that was going on, See-More continued to blast me with his stun blasts, which were now starting to take their toll on my body. Unable to dodge or run, I only had one option.

I managed to dig deep and position myself to where I was only resting on one knee. Once that happened I began fighting back, and fortunately I still had a few extra arms. With an angry roar, I flail my arms and claw at the air hoping to catch Kyd Wykkyd. This proved to be a taxing task as I was still being blasted by See-More as I did so. I could hear Billy and See-More laughing at me as I probably looked like a raging, six-armed, spaz wolf as I flailed at the air. The laughter immediately stopped when I lucked out and managed to catch Kyd Wykkyd by snagging his cape in my claws.

Before he could teleport again, I quickly cloaked two of my paws with my aura and grabbed him. Thinking I was distracted, See-More fires at me again, but this time I was ready. I shield myself using Kyd Wykkd's body. His eyes widen in discomfort as he takes the blast. The darkly dressed mutant then passes out in my paws.

_You wuss_, I thought to myself upon realizing that I managed to take multiple stun blasts from See-More whereas he was knocked out by a single blast. Any respect I had for him for being a fellow dark soul went right out the window. I spin around and hurl Kyd Wykkyd at See-More. See-More yelps as he and his teammate collide and then crash into the wall behind them, creating a cloud of dust in the process. When the dust cleared, I look at the floor to see See-More was also knocked out from my attack.

I rise to my feet and turn to Bill Numerous as he begins to multiply. As he did so, to catch my breath for a moment, I absorb my extra arms and return to my human form. In mere seconds, the room was filled with Billys.

"What'cha gonna do now, Son", asked the Billys in a unified voice. I flick my serpent tongue at him and hiss angrily in response. I noticed some of the Billys backing up when I did so. I quickly read one's mind and chuckle to myself as I discover why. Apparently, Billy Numerous was ophiophobic. An evil grin stretches over my face as I unleash my Yami Bakura laugh. The Billys back up a little bit more upon hearing it.

"I'm going to enjoy thissss", I said as my brown eyes turned green. _Blindimon digivolve to…. Mambamon!_ As I looked up at the army of Billys, I rattle my tail. The Billys immediately began to cower at the sight of me in my snake form. _Double Team_, I thought to myself as I too began to multiply. A few seconds later, the army of Billys was herded together in the center of the room, as they were all surrounded by dozens of black rattlesnakes.

With synchronized timing, all of the Mambas lifted their heads and hissed as loud and aggressive as they could. The Billys responded in the most humorous way possible, a collective girly shriek, followed by them all peeing themselves. As the smell of urine started to fill the room, the Billy army was scared back down to one.

Among the crowd of me, I noticed a green rattlesnake joining in on my serpent mob. One of me turns around to see that the other Titans were restraining the still unconscious members of the H.I.V.E. Five, and more importantly, Cyborg was back online. I look back at Billy and notice that he'd been reduced to the fetal position on the floor. Raven then surrounds him in her aura and imprisons him in a dark bubble.

With Billy now successfully restrained, the great many snakes I multiplied into slithered together and merged back into Blindimon, my human form. Raven then lifts Billy's prison into the air and flies out of the room with him. Starfire follows behind lifting the other four restrained villains. Robin then approaches me with Cyborg and Beast Boy, now back in his human form, at his sides.

"Nice work, Wolfman", says Robin as he sticks out his right arm.

"Thanks", I said as I shook his hand.

"No, thank _you_ for saving my life", said Cyborg as he interrupted our handshake by placing his hand on top of ours. Beast Boy then places his hand on top of Cyborg's.

"I just wanna say….", Beast Boy began, "….that is, what I'm trying to get at is….". Robin then slaps him upside the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything when I said…."

"I understand, Beast Boy", I said, cutting him off. "You were upset about Cyborg. And I, myself lost my temper as well. And for that _I_ am sorry." Beast Boy nods his head with a grin.

"I say tonight we celebrate", exclaimed Cyborg. "I'm talking sushi buffet! All you can eat!"

"Dude, I'm a….", Beast Boy began.

"We know", said me, Cyborg, and Robin all at once.

"I was just saying…."

"How about burgers and a movie night", I suggested.

"Great idea", said Robin.

"Now we're talking", added Cyborg.

"Sweet! I do have one question though", said Beast Boy. We all looked at him waiting for the sarcastic quip. "Any reason why we're still holding hands", he asked as he took his hand away. As if on cue, the three of us snatched our hands away awkwardly. A few seconds later we all found ourselves laughing at the comically awkward situation that had just happened.

"Alright, guys. Let's head down to the station and meet the girls. We've got to go over the damage we caused today anyhow", said Robin. "Then it's combat training back at the Tower." Cy and Beast Boy groaned at the thought of training after everything that had happened just that morning. "And then later tonight, we celebrate our newest teammate and his first mission." I couldn't help but smile as Robin and the others turned to walk out of the door.

As they walked, the world around me slowed down once again. I blink in astonishment when I noticed how much Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy reminded me so much of Asia, Taiyo, and Adryen. It was like my kidnapped friends were right in front of me.

_God, I miss them_, I think to myself as my eyes start to tear up a little. Through the tears at the bottom of my eyes I saw Asia stop and turn back at me.

"Wolfman? Are you coming", she asked me. Shocked to hear her voice, I rub my eyes dry and open them again.

"Wolfman? Are you coming", asked Robin. The Elementals were gone and the Titans stood in their place. It must've been just wishful thinking.

"Yeah, I'm coming", I said as I walked to join my new friends. _Friends. Yeah, I think so. I think these guys are indeed my friends._


	11. Movie Night

There I lay, back on the Titans' couch, curled up in my wolf form. As I slept I once again replayed events of the passing day. I thought about how I finally felt noticed by the others and got the chance to prove myself in our mission earlier that day. I thought about the combat training session we had when we returned to the tower.

Robin and Cyborg acted as my sparring partners. For a couple of humans, they were both tough customers. Cyborg definitely surprised me when he nearly over-powered me in a hand-locked pushing match. As we had pushed into each other trying to knock the other back, I nearly had to Change into my beast form to out-muscle him, giving Gizamon quite the workout. That's what I get for assuming that his strength was limited due to his mechanical state.

Some time after the training session, we all gathered in the living room for movie night. Cyborg and Beast Boy were in charge of cooking the burgers. It didn't take long for another argument to ensue about beef patties vs tofu patties. I looked back over at the couch to see Starfire and Robin whispering to one another. At first I thought they were doing their usual flirting, but then I overheard them mentioning me.

"Star, what's up between you two?"

"I do not wish to talk about it. Besides, I cannot promise to trust him right away when he does not clearly trust us. Why else would he not care to return to his true form", asked Starfire in reference to the fact that I once again was spending the evening with them in my wolf form.

_You're only half right, Princess_, I thought to myself upon hearing her make that comment. When it came to the Titans, I was comfortable around the guys completely. Beast Boy's little brother vibe was beginning to grow on me. It was really hard to keep a straight face with him around.

Robin proved to be the serious but team-oriented leader that every good team needed. It didn't take me long to realize that when it came to missions, battle, and other business, he was the serious leader he needed to be. But off the battlefield, he could be just as goofy as the other guys. There was also the assumed soft side to him as well, seeing as how he and Starfire were clearly an item.

And then there was Cyborg, the Titan that recruited me. I remember feeling a touch of guilt for assuming what I did about his limits, especially considering that I identified with him quite a bit. The only other Titan I related to more was Raven. Cyborg, as his name suggested, was half machine, and I could only imagine what must've happened to him in his previous life. And I couldn't imagine the things he must've gone through and probably still go through. Cyborg's very being implied hardship and strife, but looking at him as he argued with Beast Boy, I saw two brothers. I saw two best friends that'd been together for so long that even as they got on each other's nerves, there wasn't anything one wouldn't do for the other. Outside of the tower, many people in the world saw them as freaks or abominations. But here, they celebrated their differences. The boy wonder, the cyborg, the mutant, the alien, and then…well, Raven.

Upon reminding myself about Raven, I look over to see her over in the corner continuing to knit, though still not having any idea of what she was making other than the fact that it was dark blue, much like her cloak.

_What are you_, I thought to myself as I was reminded that I still didn't know if Raven was merely a mutant or something more. I shake my head upon hearing how blunt my thought was. _Note to self, never ever ask that question out loud._ My ears twitch as I hear Robin and Starfire continuing to whisper. _As I said, Starfire, you're only half right. It's not the Titans I don't trust, it's you specifically._

I wasn't just making a witty remark, I truly didn't trust Starfire too much. Her friends saw her as the hyperactive alien that was equally as friendly to most others. However, when it came to me, she couldn't stand the sight of me. Every time I was near her I was secretly anticipating another star bolt. Between that and the fact that Raven made me more nervous than Billy was when I Changed into Mambamon, it was no wonder why I was more comfortable in my wolf form.

"Hey, Wolfman", shouted Beast Boy, calling to me from the kitchen and snapping me out of my inner thoughts. "You can cook, right?"

"Uh, kinda", I respond bashfully as my cooking skills were very much basic and not too extraordinary.

"Eh, good enough. Think you can speed up the burgers with some wolf voltage?"

"I can try." I honestly wasn't sure if I could or not. I used to use my powers to grill and cook all the time before coming to Jump City. However, back then I could manipulate the element of fire to help with my cooking skills. This time the closest thing I currently had to fire was electricity. "But I can't make any promises. I've never cooked using electricity only."

"No problem", added Cyborg. "I can monitor the cooking while you zap 'em", he said as two metal rods shot out of his index fingers. "All you've got to do is turn off the juice when I give the word."

With Cyborg's help, Beast Boy's idea turned out to be a success. The burgers turned out great. I remembered the warm feeling I got in my stomach after finally eating my fill during a meal since arriving to Jump City.

_Suddenly that old pizza crust seems extremely insignificant_, I thought to myself as I remembered that it was only one day prior that I was digging through the garbage and chasing alley dogs.

After we all had finished eating, it was time for the movie. As we all met on the couch, Cyborg, proving to have an appetite bigger than mine, grabs a seat with a large bucket of popcorn from the kitchen in his arms as Starfire announced the choices for movie night. Apparently, the Titans went in cycles to choose what the theme was, and then the other Titans then got to vote on the movie based on the theme. With that said, it surprised me when Starfire, the Tamaranian princess from another planet, announced that the theme would be Disney movies, or rather Disney Princess movies.

Cyborg and Beast Boy groaned at the idea of watching a princess movie, while Robin and Raven had little to no input on the idea. I read BB and Cy's minds briefly and learned that they were hoping for something animal related or sci-fi respectively. Unfortunately I couldn't do much for Cyborg, but there was one movie that I was sure would cover Beast Boy's animal requirement.

"How about "Beauty and the Beast"", I suggested since nobody else was saying anything. They all turn to look at me upon hearing my suggestion. _Or not_, I thought to myself as I lowered my ears bashfully. This time, Raven came to my rescue.

"Well it is one of the better Princess movies", she said as she returned to her knitting.

"Eh, fair enough", said Cyborg, still not impressed at the theme.

"Plus it's got….", started Beast Boy as he morphs into a bear and growls as if mimicking the Beast from the movie.

"I think we've come to an agreement", said Robin as he pats the couch with his left hand as if to offer Starfire a seat next to him.

"Then the monster love story it is", she says as she turns on the movie and quickly flies back to the couch to join Robin.

I remembered how nostalgic I felt upon watching one of my favorite movies with my new friends. I remembered how Robin and Star were lost in their own world together as Belle began to get to know the Beast. I remembered how a low growl rumbled in my chest every time I saw that douche, Gaston appear on screen, which made Raven chuckle a little bit, though it was quiet to a point where only I could hear her. I remembered how she and I awkwardly made eye contact and broke away during the ballroom scene. And I remembered Beast Boy, like he does, making yet another comedic gesture as he booed at the screen when the Beast returned to his human form after breaking the spell. Despite all the craziness that had been going on as of late, despite all of the fighting and struggling to survive, that moment made me, for a short while, forget it all. It had been so long since I had sat down to watch and enjoy a movie like the way we were doing, and having the Titans there really made it special. Once the movie had ended, Cyborg immediately broke the silence.

"Welp, that happened. Time for bed", he said with a yawn as he stretched his arms. I remembered how as the others were leaving the room to go to their own rooms, I tried opening my mouth to speak with Raven, but nothing came out. I then began to dream about what I would've said, or rather what I wanted to say, when I suddenly noticed a white light filling the room.

_Not again_, I thought to myself as my dream was being interrupted, causing me to black out for the umpteenth time. When I came to, I was in an environment that was…. odd, to say the least. If I had to describe it, it was kinda like outer space, except that the dark void that made up space had hints of both black and red in it. I was back in my human form standing on a floating rock, which I dubbed as an asteroid given the space-like environment I was in. Despite it looking like outer space, I knew it couldn't be because I wasn't cloaking myself in aura in order to survive its harsh conditions. It was either that or I was still dreaming.

"O-kay, I'm lost", I said as I look over to see more asteroids forming a stone bridge as if on cue. The bridge connected the rock I was standing on to a land strip, also just floating in space. "Because sure, why not", I say sarcastically as I cautiously walk across the bridge. Once I was across I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I heard a tiny voice.

"Turn back", it said. I dart my head back, forth, left, and right trying to find out who was saying that. "Turn back", it said again. I eventually look behind me to see a tree with a bird in it, which was weird because I didn't notice there was a tree there until just that moment. "Turn back", the bird said again. This bizarre, little bird had feathers as black as a raven, a body like a sparrow, and a comically large head that almost made it look like a deformed duck. It blinked its red eyes as it said once more, "turn back". Before I could respond, two more birds appeared out of nowhere. "Turn back", they all said as three more birds appeared as well. Now there were six. Then six became ten, then ten became twenty, and then fifty. After that I didn't care to stay to count them anymore. I Changed into Lobomon and bolted.

The flock of birds shrieked as they flew after me. With nowhere to run except along the land strip, the only thing I could do was hope to outrun them. That proved to be an impossible task as the birds were slowly starting to catch up to me. One by one the birds swooped down and bit the sides of my torso. I roar in pain and shock as I wondered to myself why I felt little teeth being sunk into my flesh. I brushed against another tree in an attempt to knock them off of me. I roar again as their teeth scrape against my skin as they're pried off. I look back to catch a glimpse of the birds. I noticed that they did now indeed have fangs growing out of their beaks, and each now had four red eyes instead of two, and their irises and pupils were gone.

As the birds began to close in on me again, I decided to stand my ground and fight. I come to a halt as I rise to my hind paws and turn to face my opponents. I then lift my right paw as sparks of purple electricity surged from my claws. I then use the voltage to form a crude spear as if I were Zeus.

"Lightning Strike", I shout as I hurl the spear at the flock. The spear explodes as a cloud of smoke engulfs the great many birds, now all shrieking in pain. Electricity sparks over the cloud as the shrieking from the birds ceases and the world I was in goes quiet.

Thinking that the worst was over, I turn to walk away, when one of the birds shoots out to attack me yet again. Before I could spin back around, a white dove flies in out of nowhere and intercepts the winged attacker. With one flap of her wings, the dove summons another white light, which obliterates the dark shadow bird. It shrieks in pain as it evaporates into thin air. The dove then flies from behind me and makes her perch on a nearby tree to my left.

"_Uh, thanks."_ The dove then cooes in response. Even though animals communicate in their own language, sometimes a howl was just as howl, and a coo was just a coo. I brush off the dove's lack of a response and continue. _"Can you tell me where I am?" _The dove simply cooes again. _"Do you even understand what I am saying?"_ The dove cooes once more and flies down the land strip. _"Hey, wait"_, I snarl as I take off after her. The chase goes on for about two or three minutes before I yell at her again. _"I'm in no mood for a marathon, you bird brain!"_ As if on cue, she then leads me to an area that looked crossed between a courtyard and a graveyard. It was full of demonic and rather disturbing-looking statues. "I would say I'm going to have nightmares tonight, if it weren't for the fact that I still can't tell if I'm asleep or not", I say as I look around in a slight sense of panic as I feared that I might have been led into a trap.

"Fear not, my prince", said a woman in a white hooded cloak as she emerged from behind one of the statues. Her face was completely concealed.

"Who are you", I asked as my wolf tail began to rattle as if I were in snake form.

"Who I am is of no importance."

"Well then forgive me if I beg to differ."

"Is that any way to address she who saved you?"

"If you're referring to your little feathered friend here, she didn't really do much", I said as I motioned my head at the dove who had found a perch on a tombstone. "She destroyed one bird, whereas I destroyed the rest of the flock prior to that. Even if that one bird had completed its attack on me, I could've easily destroyed it myself afterwards."

"You're quite confident with yourself, aren't you, Fernando?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I've always known your name. I've been watching you for quite some time."

"How much time are we talking here?"

"Does that truly matter?"

"Well considering the last person who was apparently watching me managed to cripple my powers, throw me into the ocean to nearly drown, and managed to kidnap three of my friends, then yes, I say it does matter."

"Perhaps you are right. However this is where I must leave you for now", she said as she began to drift backwards into the white mist that appeared quite literally out of nowhere.

"Hold on a second", I snapped. "What kind of greeting is that? Some cryptic and stalkerish statements and then you just leave? Who are you? And why am I here? Where even is here?"

"In due time, my prince. In due time. Remember my voice, for we shall meet again."

"Oh, no you don't", I roared as I lunged at the mist. The mist disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, taking the stranger with it. With my target gone I crash into the ground. _I'm beginning to see a pattern here_, I think to myself as I rise back to my paws and shake myself off. I look around to confront the dove again. Not only was she no longer there, but the weird-looking outer space was gone as well.

In its place was just a black emptiness. It wasn't like my portals I made where the dimension was filled with darkness and shadows, this place was just black, as if somehow somebody made this place dark but without actual darkness. I could sense no shadows, no supernatural presences, nothing. It was kinda like I existed on a computer's desktop screen or a Microsoft Word document and somebody painted the background pitch-black. I look back down at my paws to see that I was standing on what looked like a giant stained glass window. Since I couldn't tell what the design was on the glass, seeing as how I was so small in comparison, I began exploring it.

The window consisted of mostly yellows, with a fair amount of orange and brown. As my paws crossed the border between yellow glass and brown glass, I noticed something that made this scenario seem familiar. Further ahead, I saw a touch of black that was shaped like a crude letter "S". Right below it, which from my angle was to my left, I saw an eye, which led me to believe that the "S" shape was a horn . Next to the eye, closer to the horn, I saw a pointed ear, and further down, a snout, and then some fangs. It was the face of some kind of animal, though I couldn't really tell from my angle.

I turn around behind me back towards the previous yellow glass. To my right, the glass continued to be yellow all the way to the end of the window, which based on the brownish border was a circular window. To my left, the yellow glass continued for a bit, and then the glass turned to a color that resembled a white person's skin. Further up I noticed a color that looked half-light brown and half-red. I walk over towards this new-colored glass and discover that it looked like hair, a woman's hair based on the length. I look back at where the skin-colored glass met the yellow glass and concluded that the image they were creating was that of a woman in a yellow dress. That's when it hit me.

_Wait a moment. A woman in a yellow dress? A brown animal with horns and fangs? I think I know where I've seen this before!_ Upon thinking that I turn to trot up the window towards where I assumed the "top" would be. I passed by the woman's hair, and right towards the top of the window was an image I could easily identify, even at the angle I was in. This image was much smaller than that of the animal and the woman, so I was able to see it fully as if I was standing in a classroom and someone had drawn the image on the floor. The image was of a single red rose in a glass covering.

_I knew it_, I thought to myself as I realized I was standing on a stained glass window of the Disney film I had just finished watching hours ago. It was at that moment that the rose turned white and began to glow brighter and brighter. _I know where this is going_, I think to myself as I Change into Gizamon and ascend into the air as quickly as I could. I flapped my wings hard and fast, but I didn't feel like I was getting very far. I looked back for a moment to see my progress in distance. I was only just far enough to see the full window.

In the circular window stood Belle, her arms at her sides and her eyes closed. To her right, my left, stood the Beast. His head was facing my left, so only the left half of his face was visible. I look in awe at the stained glass as I realize that it wasn't merely a movie reference, but it was also a video game reference. As the white light, now too bright and large to escape, begins expanding and engulfing everything in its path, I think to myself, _okay, fine! Take me somewhere else if you want! But if I wake up with a Keyblade or a Heartless shows up, I'm calling bullshit!_ I black out once again.

When I came to I was standing on two legs again. At first I assumed I was back in my human form, but then I noticed my feet, which were still paws. I wiggled my toes as I observed my brown fur instead of the usual black fur. I move my front paws to the top of my head as I feel my two horns placed there. I look back up and scan the room I had been transported to. I was standing in yet another video game reference.

It was the main hallway of the Beast's Castle from the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series. I knew it was the video game's version and not the film directly because the room wasn't filled with much. Even in the film, before the spell was broken, the castle was at least filled with statues, relics, old-timey architecture and furniture, and of course you couldn't take two steps into any room without running into a talking and/or moving inanimate object. This castle's hallway just had gray walls with little to no effort on the architecture, as if it was built to code and nothing else. However, I was still a bit in awe of seeing this environment this up close and personal. It was one thing to see it in a video game or an animated movie, it was a completely different thing to see it in real life, well kind of.

The support beams in the hall each had a statue of a knight in armor next to it facing towards the center. In the center was a grand staircase that led to a large pair of doors at the top. There were then two more large staircases that turned to the left and right of the doors, which based off of my knowledge of the video game, led to the West and East wings respectively. Along the center staircase, stretching from the large pair of doors at the top, all the way down to the large pair of doors that stood behind me, was a long reddish carpet with a pinkish-colored border.

With no real options other than to entertain this hallucination, I walk along the carpet towards the staircase. I stop at one of the statues of armor and look towards it. At first I was confused as to why they were statues of armor and not of gargoyles like from the video game, but then I noticed a glimpse of my reflection in the armor. I walk over to it and gaze at my awkward reflection as the armor reflected the image of myself as if I were looking in a funhouse mirror. Despite this however, I knew right away what I was looking at. Staring back at me was the Beast from the movie this environment was based on. And as if that wasn't enough copyright infringement, I was also wearing the Beast's blue ballroom outfit from the movie as well. This might freak out or startle other people if they were in this situation, but as for me, the only thing I was thinking was, _so am I_ the _Beast, or did I simply just Change without my knowledge?_ This was a legitimate question. A previous encounter I once had when I was younger deemed that question legitimate.

Before I could think too far into it, I suddenly heard music. I couldn't recognize the melody or the song, though I wasn't sure what to expect considering where I was, but I could hear that it was muffled. It was coming from behind the doors at the end of the carpet. Eager to get the fantasy over with, I drop down to all fours and run towards the doors at the top of the stairs. Once there, I rise back to my hind legs and push open the doors.

I adjust my eyes to the bright lights coming from inside to find that I opened the doors to the Beast's ballroom. Inside on the dance floor were a great many people dancing in pairs. They all danced in unison as the men guided their partners around the dance floor. As I watched the dancers, I immediately picked up on the fact that out of all of the people in the room, I only recognized four, all of which were Titans.

Robin, dressed in a tuxedo, danced with Starfire, dressed in a sparkling pink dress, while Beast Boy, also dressed in a tux, danced with a girl of his own. She was extremely skinny, especially when compared to the already very slim Beast Boy, and had long, blonde hair. She had a pair of large, blue eyes, and she wore a little, black dress, the kind that women seem to strive to fit into whenever weight loss comes to mind. The fourth Titan was Cyborg. He was also dressed in a tux, but was off to the right of the dancefloor conducting the orchestra.

_Since when was Cyborg a conductor_, I asked myself as I was baffled by the strange sight of Cyborg impulsively moving his arms as he directed the musicians to his command. I look back to the dancefloor at the dancing Titans. As expected, Robin and Starfire danced together with smiles on their faces. Though I'd only known them for a short time, and I knew nothing about how they met or how they became an item, I could tell, at least in that bizarre dream world, that they were truly in love. I looked at Starfire, and how her face just lit up as she danced in Robin's arms, and I grew envious of her. I looked over at Beast Boy to see a similiar smile on his face. I became baffled by both that smile and who he was smiling at, because as far as I could tell, I was still dreaming everything I was seeing.

With that being said, whenever I dreamt, I had trouble "creating" people from scratch. People I've met or have at least actually seen prior to my dream were always dreamt in detail while everyone else looked cartoony by comparison, and that was being applied in that dream world as well. The four Titans and the blue-eyed blonde all looked like actual and detailed real people, while the other dancers and musicians all kinda looked like cartoony extras you'd see in movies, as in the had no purpose being there other than to show that the room was crowded, so it boggled my mind to see Beast Boy dancing with a girl he was seemingly in love with, but was as real as he was. I had never met her before, nor did I even know if she existed or not, but Beast Boy was still in love with her, and she loved him back.

_Did I create a girl for him? Wait, no. If I did, then why did I leave Cyborg out_, I ask myself as I look back over at Cyborg, single and still conducting the musicians. _You know a better question would probably be, why do I only count four Titans_, I ask myself as I wondered where Raven was. I couldn't see her anywhere in the ballroom, and I couldn't sense her darkness either. I look around the room searching for a wall to lean against or a chair to sit in. I see no chairs, and the room was too crowded for me to lean against a wall without drawing attention to myself or getting in somebody's way. Not to mention that given my current form, it was difficult to simply blend in anyway. I lower my ears in shame as I dared not walk out to the dance floor given that A) I was terrified of dancing, and B) even if I wasn't, dancing out there without someone to dance with was even more terrifying, even if it was just a weird and bizarre dream.

It was then that, as if on cue, the doors behind me open once again. I turn to see Raven as she walks into the room with her arms down in front of her. She was wearing Belle's yellow ballroom dress with the matching yellow gloves that stretched to her elbows. Her monotoned face begins to blush as she makes eye contact with me. I then try to Change back into my human form, but to no avail. For some reason, despite still having my extra powers, well most of them (Doctor Light's limit on my powers were somehow still in effect in this dream), I was trapped in my current beast form.

As Raven's violet eyes look up into my blue eyes, she sarcastically asks, "so is this the part where you almost die and we all live happily ever after?" I chuckle upon hearing her question. Though she was being aggressively sarcastic, I still found her funny.

"Wanting to get rid of me already? And after having just joined the team and everything….." A look of confusion passed over Raven's face upon hearing my voice, though altered due to my non-human form, instead of Robby Benson's.

"Fernando? Is that you in there?"

"The one and only", I respond with a bow. "And might I say that you're looking lovely this fine evening", I added while a cheeky grin stretched across my face.

"I look ridiculous", she protested.

"And what makes you say that", I ask her now sounding a bit more seriously.

"If I wouldn't be caught dead with yellow wallpaper, what makes you think I'd go to a party, which has people I might add, wearing a yellow dress?"

"Hmmm. Though you bring up a good point about the people", I began as I circled her while looking her up and down, "yellow is nothing but a color. It neither takes away from the fact that it's a lovely dress, or that you're a lovely lady."

"Lovely", she asks me bashfully. Though I wasn't sure if she could see it through my fur, I was blushing up a storm upon realizing what I had just said, as well as starting to panic upon not knowing what to say next.

_Holy shit! Did I just say that? Did I actually just say that? Think of something! Think of something!_ When I couldn't think of what to say next, I decided to just move on. I extend my right arm and push my right paw towards Raven's dress. I then use my aura to Change the color of her dress and her matching gloves. Since my aura was purple, I could only Change the color to purple, however I figured Raven would appreciate a purple dress over a yellow one. I then Change the color of my attire to match hers. Raven's look of surprise and shock got even bigger as she gasped in awe at my little magic trick. _Keep it going! Keep it going_, I think to myself as I anxiously plot to myself on how to keep the energy going. I then immediately turn to face the dance floor and offer her my right arm.

"You really don't want to dance with me."

_Yes, I really do_, I think to myself as I motion my head towards my right arm. Raven then hesitantly takes my arm as I lead her out to the dance floor. As I lead her out, people would stop and stare at us as we passed, mostly at me. I look down at my right to see Raven, now looking a bit uncomfortable. At first I was worried if I was coming off as too strong, but then I noticed her looking towards the floor. Her monotoned face once again gave off vibes of sorrow and discomfort. I look up at the other people in the room. Though some people ignored us continued to dance, most everyone else stopped and stared at us. Even though it was all a dream, it made me angry just the same. I wasn't sure which was more of a determining factor, the fact that I was angry at the judgemental looks we were getting from everyone, or the fact that Raven was now getting uncomfortable because of the attention I was drawing towards us. Either way, I couldn't bear to see her that way, so it was then I decided to make the first move.

Without even thinking, and with a growl rumbling in my chest for anyone close enough to us to hear, I swing myself around to face Raven. I then take her right hand in my left paw and place my right paw on Raven's lower back and pull her towards me. To make matters worse, I wasn't even looking at her when I did so. I was glaring at the other dancers and making them back off in fear and astonishment as I growled and flashed my fangs at them. It wasn't until I looked back down into Raven's eyes that I realized what I'd done. I basically man-handled her, and now she was looking at me surprised and shocked at my grabbing her.

All my anger leaves my face as my jaw drops unable to think of something to say. I release Raven and back off from her a bit hoping that she wouldn't veto my invitation to dance. It was then that Raven took everyone by surprise, myself included. She not only accepted my invitation, but she mirrored how I had previously grabbed her. She tightens her grip on my left paw, positions my right paw back on her lower back, and then pulls herself into me just as she was before. She then rests her left arm on my right arm as she looks up into my eyes and smiles, causing me to smile back. With my confidence now back, I thought things couldn't get any better, but then the music played. My ears twitch as a song I finally recognize begins to fill the room. The orchestra was playing "Once Upon a Dream".

"Wrong movie, but I'm gonna go with it", I said as I took the lead in our dance. We twirled around on the dancefloor for what felt like hours. Once again I could hear Raven's heartbeat staggering my own. I stared deeply into her violet eyes until I had completely forgotten that there were other people in the room. I randomly look up and notice that everyone else had either left the dancefloor or continued dancing, ignoring us. I look back at Raven and begin to blush once more. Raven, as if she was in sync with me, begins blushing as well as she then rests her head on my chest. _Dude, this is crazy. There's no way._ I look back up and scan the room as I see Beast Boy and Robin. Beast Boy had his hands clasped together and was shaking them in a congratulatory manner, while to his right, Robin was nodding his head and giving me a thumbs up. _Holy shit! We so totally are! If this weren't a dream, I would think Disney was gonna sue somebody._

I look back down at Raven, her head still rested on my chest. As she laid there covering my heart while I desperately struggled restraining myself from stroking her back with my fingers, I started to _react_ once again.

_God dammit! Not now_, I thought to myself as that was the worse possible time and place to get a boner. Not only was Raven in the room, but there was an entire ballroom full of people. I quickly scan the room trying desperately to find something to cool _myself_ off. I smile awkwardly as Raven looks back up at me. Despite the awesome dream, I was now beginning to panic a little. I was dancing with Raven. Not only that, I was touching her, enough to where my dream felt real. Not only that, I got her to legitimately smile, which says something because from what I'd gathered, she was the type of person that rarely smiled. Not only that, that dream was taking place in a universe based off of one of America's most beloved romantic movies (kind of). _Ho-ly shit! I pray nobody looks down. Dead kittens, dead kittens, dead kittens!_

It was at that moment, I look up and noticed some people that did manage to cool _me_ off, so much so that I just stopped dancing in my tracks. Raven follows my stare and looks towards the eight people I was watching. I knew then that it _was_ all a dream, and that everything that had happened up until that point was _way_ too good to be true. My ears lowered in sorrow as Raven begins to question me.

"What is it?" I motion my head over to the four pairs of young people dancing in brightly-colored clothing. The four men danced with their women each wearing a custom-colored tuxedo (orange, green, blue, and red), while the women danced in dresses that looked like hybrids of Raven and Starfire's dresses.

Dressed in the orange tuxedo was a skinny, yet built Japanese-American young man with short, brown hair. He danced with a lovely cherry blossom of a Chinese woman who wore a golden dress. Dressed in the green tuxedo was a young African-American male with a shaved head and glasses. He danced with a cute Indian woman in a bright, yellow dress. The man in the blue tux was also an African-American male with a shaved head, though his head was larger in comparison and had a sort of walnut shape to it. The woman he danced with was a thin Latina in a sparkling silver dress, which seemed to be a counterpart to the Chinese woman's dress. And finally, the man in red was a Caucasian male light brown hair that kinda looked like it had tiny hints of red in it. His dance partner was also Latina, though she had more curves to her figure, complete with "hips". She was rocking a pink dress that almost looked like an exact replica of Starfire's dress.

"Are those—", began Raven.

"Yes. Those are the other Elementals. My friends." Upon saying that, my eyes began to fill with tears. I'd doomed three of my friends, and ruined three families worth of lives. Upon thinking about my missing friends, I began thinking about how I was going to go about finding them. I also thought about how difficult it'd be now that my mother had abandoned me, and how I would get in contact with her without endangering the remaining Elementals. _What next? I don't know what to do. _Before Raven could question me again, quite literally out of nowhere, a giant mutated moth with blue eyes crashes into the ballroom. _Because why the fuck not_, I asked in frustrated sarcasm as if I were the Nostalgia Critic reviewing a random deus ex machina from a movie from ten years ago. The creature shrieked as it began attacking everyone in the ballroom. The dancers all flee in a panic as they desperately tried to escape the creature. In the chaos I get separated from Raven. It was at that moment that I also noticed that I could no longer see the Titans or the other Elementals. I was all alone.

With a roar, I challenge the moth and charge at it. As I leapt into the air and lunged at it, I shouted, "BeastLobomon digivolve to….", but nothing happened. The moth simply opened its mouth wide and then immediately, once I was about to be tossed into his mouth, bit its teeth down as it tried to chew me up. At the last minute I manage to catch its teeth with all four paws as I used every once of my strength to keep my arms and legs extended to prevent the giant flying insect from slamming its teeth shut. As I struggled, I look behind me into the creature's throat to see that it was preparing to lash its tongue at me. In an attempt to dodge I dig deep and lift up as hard and fast as I could as I attempted to leap out of the moth's mouth. Unfortunately I didn't leap out far enough, because the moth's jaws slammed right on my tail. I close my eyes tightly as I throw my head back and howl in pain.


	12. Return to Box Elder

My eyes shoot open as I discover that something was indeed biting my tail. I then leap over the back of the sofa as I whip my tail as hard as I can. The thing that was biting me then flies off of my tail and crashes into the stereo that Robin was listening to a couple of days ago. The thing then falls behind the countertop as the stereo system rocks for a moment and then falls on top of it, as indicated by the shrieking noise it made when it landed.

I walk through the darkness and around the side to see what it was that was biting me. A feeling of panic washes over me as I look down to see what looked like a large grub. It was pink and fleshy-looking and it was large enough to be cradled like a baby.

"Oh, shit", I said as I realized what I had done to Silkie. The little grub began to wail as the stereo system lay on top of it. I had just finished pulling off the stereo system when Starfire flew into the room and hurled a star bolt at me. The blast knocks me into the wall behind me, chipping off a large chunk of the plaster in the process. Before my body could drop to the ground, Starfire already had one hand around my throat, with the other poised and glowing, ready to fire another star bolt.

"You dare attempt to strike down my Silkie?"

"It was an accident, Starfire", I said as I struggled in her grasp. Her fingers dug into my throat so intensely that I unintentionally Changed back into my human form.

"One does not accidentally squash a pet with a booming box!" Unable to take much more of her assault, I Change my left hand into a paw and claw Starfire across the right side of her face. She screams in pain as the blow was enough to send her flying onto the sofa. I massage my throat briefly in an attempt to relieve it of the pain. Starfire then lifts herself up to face me as she sat at on the back of the couch. I gasp at the sight of her as I discover that I left three rather large claw marks across her face, one of which went across her right eye.

"Oh, shit. Raven", I called out. But before I could wait for a response, Starfire lunged at me, screaming in rage as she did so. Starfire's alien strength crashes us through the wall and out of the tower as she then throws me towards the ground below. "Lobomon digivolve to…. Gizamon", I shout as I Change into my armored form and pull up with one flap of my wings. I pick up speed as I ascend in an attempt to ram into her. Starfire however flies out of the way as I begin to brush past her. Before I completely missed her, the alien princess then wraps her arms around my neck and climbs onto my back. I frantically fly in circles as fast as I could trying to buck her off all the while.

"The more you struggle, the more you cannot escape", said Starfire, confident that she had me trapped.

"Then how about this?" I shoot up to a quick ascend then open my wings and fall back as we then plummet towards the ground. Before Starfire had the chance to let go I shouted, "Thundershock", as volts of purple electricity surged all over my body. Starfire screamed as the massive voltage completely immobolized her, making it impossible for her to let go. We were just about to crash into the ground like a bolt of lightning when we heard a familiar spell being chanted.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", shouted Raven as we were then pulled into another shadow portal. The portal brought us back to the living room inside the tower, where Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were waiting for us. As we dropped from the portal I landed on all four of my paws, with Starfire, her grip on me now loosened, lying on her stomach on my back. I look back towards the hole in the wall to see Raven fly through to join us.

"Yo, what happened in here", asked Cyborg in reference to the damage we made to the walls and the broken stereo. Starfire responded by punching me in the back of the head as she floated off of my back. I yelp in response as her punch was strong enough to knock me onto my forearms. She then grabs her pet Silkie and retreats to her room.

"She's got a few scratches on her face", I said as I turned to Raven in reference to her power to heal.

"Cyborg asked you a question, Wolfman", said Robin with a hint of aggression in his voice. I responded with a bit of aggression of my own. I was in no mood for this.

"Correction. He asked both me _and_ Starfire a question."

"Do I look like I'm in the mood for games? Just tell us what happened!"

"What does it look like? Starfire and I got into it, that's all!"

"What's your problem", asked Robin now getting in my face.

"Well if you must know —", I began with a growl in my throat.

"Enough", shouted Raven. Upon hearing Raven raise her voice like that, Robin and I's arguing ceases immediately. "We just ended one fight. Now is not the time to start another like a couple of idiots."

"She's right, y'all", added Cyborg. "I'm thinking we all just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." At that moment, as if on cue, the sun began to rise over the ocean. "Boo-yah! Sunrise! You know what that means? Chinese!"

"For breakfast", asked Robin. "It's only 6 am."

"And they open at 7, so we'd better get a move on or we'll get beat by the rush", said Cyborg as he lifted up Robin and Beast Boy by the backs of their shirts similar to how one would pick up a puppy by the scruff of their neck. "Be back in about two hours", said Cyborg back to me and Raven as he walked towards the elevator with Robin and Beast Boy flailing in his grasp.

Once the elevator had closed and began its trip down, I began to walk out of the room to head for the roof. I jump a little when Raven levitates in front of me, blocking my path. I look up to see her staring down at me with her monotoned look in her eyes. I break eye contact with her as I attempt to walk around her. I growl slightly in response when she blocks my path again. I attempt to walk around her again, and once again, she blocks my path. At that point I got ticked off as I rose to my hind legs and snarled at her. Raven then grabs me by my hips and spins me back around to face the sofa. The shocking feeling of her hands touching my fur caused me to Change back to my human form. She then gives me a small push. After I stumble forward a few steps, I turn back to see Raven's face now having a stern look on it.

She didn't even wait for me to respond or say anything as she then turns around and says, "I'll be right back." Another growl rumbles in my chest as she flies out of the living room and heads down the hall towards Starfire's room. I reluctantly walk over to the couch and have a seat. I look over at one of the pillows hungrily as I wanted to bite into it and shake it in my mouth, and then follow that up with a loud roar as if to let the world know not to mess with me today. However, Raven wanted me to stay there and be a good dog, and if Raven asked me for it, she was gonna get it.

_Man, she__'__s not even your girl and you__'__re whipped_, I think to myself. I rise to my feet for a moment to grab the remote to the t.v.. I plop back onto the couch as I flip it on. I look down at my gut as I watched as I thought to myself,_ even I don__'__t want to see that_. I then immediately sit upright and then look behind me to make sure Raven didn't see me.

After flipping through the channels, I stumble across a news report from Kenya about a disturbance in a city square. The reporter was speaking in Swahili so I was forced to read the subtitles underneath. My attention was immediately pulled away from it as the footage taken from a random citizen's cell phone started playing on the screen. The video was only a minute or two long, and it was interrupted before the event concluded, but I already knew what the outcome was.

The video showed a grizzly bear, fighting a fleet of armed men in masks. I growl in anger as I remembered Andre's words about my friends being attacked by men in masks. Though outnumbered, fifteen-to-one, the bear was holding his own rather well for the most part. The massive mammal knocked the men around like rag dolls. When the men retaliated by firing stun guns at him, the bear rose to its hind legs and slammed the ground with its front paws as hard as it could with a mighty roar. A small tidal wave then appeared at the bear's paws and surged across the square, washing away anything that got caught in its path. Though the wave splashed over a few innocent citizens, including the camera holder, it wasn't enough for it to be fatal. It was moreso to knock his enemies off balance, which he used to his advantage as he then goes on to bite into one of the armed men's shoulder while giving bear hugs to two others at the same time.

It was at that moment that more men arrived firing stun guns at the grizzly. The bear then drops to all fours as one by one, his enemies climbed onto his back trying to drag him down. Sensing it was in trouble, the bear then surrounds itself with its blue aura and roars at the sky. He was trying to call for help, but something was preventing him from summoning his aurora. Upon seeing this, I Change my ears into their wolf form just in time to catch the dialogue being said that the humans couldn't translate.

"_Osomon digivolve to__…__. Baryomon__"_, screamed the grizzly as he Changed into his Ultimate form. The men foolish enough to climb onto the mutant's back were suddenly tossed through the air as the grizzly had transformed itself into a baryonyx. The humans close enough to the action to witness this screamed in fear as the large dinosaur then opened its mouth to prepare for attack. _"__Ice Beam__"_, he shouted as an icy blast escaped from its jaws and swept across his fleet of enemies. Upon seeing the large reptile, for a moment I had forgotten that the dinosaur was going to lose.

Upon remembering that fact, one of the men equipped with some kind of energy whip sneaks up behind the dinosaur and wraps it around his neck. As energy is being drained from the large animal, it roars in pain as it is then yanked to the ground. The video ended with people bumping into the camera holder, causing him to drop it, ending the video.

I immediately turn the t.v. off as soon as the video ends. Seeing my best friend being attacked, and then hearing him scream as he did before being captured, all while knowing that he called for my help and I didn't even know it, was more than enough to shake me up. I rise back to my feet and walk over to the hole in the wall that me and Starfire made. As I look out over the ocean, I think to myself, _Adryen, I__'__ll get you back, buddy. You, Taiyo, and Asia, too. Wherever you are, be strong, and never give up._ A single tear rolls down my cheek as I then remember the first day I met Adryen.

We were only two years old at the time, but I still remembered that day completely. It was one of the few memories that I can vividly remember from being that young. As Elementals (though we had no knowledge of the Elementals and their respective legends at the time), we both were gifted with extraordinary powers at birth, one of which was the ability to imitate and mimic. When Adryen and I met, we along with Ryan, were the only mutant children in the daycare center. I remembered how most of the adults would actively avoid interacting with us more than necessary (which is odd when you consider that the three of us were a wolf, tiger, and bear cub, and dammit, we were cute), and how the other kids all thought we were pets as they would always try to pet us, hug us, and yank on our tails as if they were toys. Even then, life was rough for three mutant cubs.

On that fateful day, I was introduced to both Adryen, and then Ryan as they were transferred from another classroom to mine. I guess the staff figured the best way to keep us out of trouble was to stick us all together. Man, were they disappointed. We eventually managed to sneak out of the room and make our way to the music room. Once we got there, we found a little baby-sized piano for us to play with. We then sat around it and began playing our then favorite song, "Elmo's Song", while Adryen, Ryan, and myself imitated the voices of Snuffy, Big Bird, and Elmo respectively. I remember seeing the shocked looks on the staff's faces when they saw the three of us in our cub forms singing and playing the piano as if we had been taking lessons for years. We were pretty impressive for a bunch of two-year-olds. I then suddenly wake up from my flashback upon hearing Raven returning into the living room.

"Anything permanent", I asked her in reference to my treatment of Starfire's face with my back still turned to her.

"No, it was just a few scratches. The stinging will eventually wear off, but the scratches themselves have already been removed."

"Good. Now I don't suppose you can fix this wall, too, can you?"

"I usually just wait for Cyborg to do it." I chuckle a little at her joke. Raven then walks over and places her hand on my right shoulder. I look back at her as she says, "follow me". She then turns back around and walks out the living room once again towards the elevator. I follow her as instructed. We walk into the elevator in silence as Raven hits the button for the roof.

As the elevator rises, I look over at her out of the corner of my eye. She stared straight ahead, patiently waiting for the doors to open. I took advantage of the fact that she didn't notice me looking at her to look her up and down. Her cloak parted towards the bottom, revealing a glimpse of her beautiful legs. Upon seeing them I could feel my tail wagging, which in turn caused me to panic a little because I was still in human form. I look back at my rear to see my black wolf tail materialized outside of my jeans and wagging up a storm. As I noticed Raven looking over towards me, I turn my back to the wall on the other side of me so that she couldn't see my tail. She raises an eyebrow in suspicion as I tried to play off my sudden movement by putting my hands in my pockets and leaning against the wall in hopes that my weight would restrain my tail.

After what felt like a long ride of awkwardness, the elevator finally stops and the doors open. Raven turns and walks out as I lift off of the wall and reach behind me to check if my tail was still there. When she was out of sight, I quickly spin around to see for myself. Once I saw that my rear was tail-less, I walk out after her. As I walk onto the roof, I look to my right and notice that Raven never noticed I stayed behind for a moment. I quickly pick up my pace a little as I power walked to catch up, returning to my normal stride when I got close enough.

Raven then led me to the side of the basketball court, the one that I didn't help to destroy upon my first visit to the tower. With her back still turned to me, she then sits Indian-style on the ground. I stood there for a moment feeling a bit puzzled as to what she was doing. Upon noticing that I said and did nothing in response to her action, she then turns back at me and simply says, "sit". Assuming she was sticking to the whole pet-relationship theme, I then Change to my wolf form and lower myself to sit where I was standing. She chuckles upon seeing my instant response to her command. Raven then levitates, her legs still crossed, off the ground and floats over towards me. She then lowers herself back to the ground only inches away and facing me and says, "I meant with me".

"I knew that", I said as I chuckled nervously. I then Changed back to my human form and shifted my body so that I was also sitting Indian-style. "So uh, now what?"

"Meditation", said Raven as she connected her index fingers with her thumbs as if she were making the signing gesture for "A-OK". She then levitates off the ground once again and hovers motionless as she stares back at me. When I hesitate, she then asks, "is there a problem?"

"I uh, don't know if I can."

"Have you ever tried it", she asks raising her eyebrow again.

"Once when I was younger. My mind wanders too easily."

"Well you didn't have me to help you back then, now did you?" I then shrug my shoulders as if to say, "eh, what the Hell?", as my wolf tail makes a return appearance, this time under my control. I then lift myself into the air, my legs still crossed, using my tail, as if I were Jackie Chan's character from that animated DreamWorks movie, "Kung Fu Panda". I then arrange my fingers to match Raven's. It was then I noticed my heart began to race for about the millionth time.

As if on cue Raven then says, "take a deep breath", so I did. "Now follow my lead." She then closed her eyes and began chanting her already infamous mantra, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", over and over and over again. At the risk of looking ridiculous, but still wanting to obey, I close my eyes and repeat her mantra as well.

At first this task, along with balancing on my tail (that's what I get for being a showoff), and trying to keep a clear head, was very tedious and exhausting at first. However, I soon noticed a familiar sound. It was Raven's heart, once again staggering my own. It was at that moment that the image of two hearts, the biological kind, not the lovey-dovey kind, appeared through the darkness of my closed eyelids. I watched in amazement as the two heartbeats staggered one another endlessly. The hearts soon began to disappear as I notice the darkness beginning to lift.

The next thing I knew, I was back in that strange outer space world, once again floating on a random asteroid in the middle of a red and black void. This time, the rock I stood on was a lot smaller. I walk over to the edge and look over it. A chill rolls down my spine as I look into the dark abyss down below.

"O-kay. So what happens now?" It was then that I noticed something white floating past my right eye. I look over to see a single white feather floating down into the abyss. I look up expecting to see that dove from before, but she's nowhere to be seen. I look back down at the feather. My ears twitched as I heard Raven's heartbeat yet again, and it was also at the moment that I noticed that the feather was floating back and forth in time to her heart. After several minutes of watching and listening in both amazement and confusion, the feather disappears into the darkness, and Raven's heart falls silent.

I step back a bit and try to Change into Gizamon, but to know avail. I then awkwardly look at my back as I try to focus on just obtaining Giza's wings, but that too failed. I then step back a bit further.

"*Sigh*. This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy", I chanted to myself as I swung my arms around and around as if I were doing group exercises at a high school sports team practice. I then drop to the ground as if I was about to run to 100 meter dash. "Risking death in three, two, one, go", I shout as I sprint towards the edge of the rock. I hesitate at the last minute and attempt to stop, but ended up tripping over my foot in the process. "Ah, crap", I say to myself as I unintentionally fall head-first over the edge and into the abyss.

At first I'm yelling as if expecting to meet my untimely end, but after ten minutes of falling into nothing, I soon grow silent, and bored. I felt less scared about meeting my end, and more irritated and annoyed that I became trapped in a bottomless pit.

"This is ridiculous. "Come join me", she says. "Try meditation", she says", I said in sarcasm as I manage to "straighten myself" to where if I were to land I would land on my bottom and cross my arms.

"I heard that", said Raven from an unknown location.

"What the? Raven?"

"The one and only." I hesitated for a moment wondering if she was referencing my "Beauty and the Beast" dream.

"Where are you?"

"Over here."

"Oh, that's helpful. Where's "here"", I ask as I twitch my ears trying to focus on her voice. The rushing sound of air as I fell made it a bit difficult. I then scan the darkness and notice what looked like something moving over to my left, as if my eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness and was slowly showing me what was there.

"Over here", said Raven as she waved her arm at me, though it was weird that she appeared to be upside down, but I couldn't tell for sure through the darkness. As if I was in water and not falling, I awkwardly move my arms and legs as if trying to swim. This tedious and embarrassing movement slowly managed to propel me over to Raven. Once I was close enough to her, my eyes had adjusted completely to the darkness that surrounded us, and she was indeed falling while upside down. Her arms were pinned to her sides as she fell like she was doing a head-first pencil dive.

"But that doesn't make any sense", I said feeling utterly confused.

"What doesn't?"

"How are we falling together when I'm spread on my stomach, while you shoot down like a rocket?"

"You ask as if I'm gonna know."

"Don't you? Didn't you bring us here?"

"I don't even know where "here" is".

"I see. Should I be concerned? Because you don't seem to be."

"I'm just gonna let this play out, see what happens." She then turns to face straight out and continues to fall motionless and upside down. Having started to get the hang of "air swimming", I flip myself over and mirror Raven's position. I look over at her and gaze at her cloak as it completely hid every inch of her body except for her face. As I looked at her cloak, I chuckle a little to myself. "What", asks Raven as she notices me staring and laughing at her.

"You kinda look like a foxtail toy", I said struggling to keep a straight face. Raven then "lowers" her head and looks "down" at herself. She then chuckles for a moment and then flat out rolls her head back and laughs. Having never heard Raven laugh before, I was amazed at how cute it was. It was high pitched to a point where it almost didn't sound like Raven, but a different person all-together. Her strange and bizarre laugh was also so cute and adorable that I couldn't help but laugh as well. After a few moments of uncontrollable laughter, Raven then stops herself from laughing and then reaches out and grabs the front of my shirt with her hand and pulls me into her face. My laughter also comes to a halt when I notice the irritated look on her face.

"Don't, ever, make me laugh", she said kinda angrily. I raise my eyebrow in confusion.

"Um, why exactly?" She then shoves me as she releases me from her grip.

"Just don't", she says as she looks "down" breaking eye contact with me, now feeling more bashful, as indicated by her face as it started to blush. I was about to pry further when that all-too-familiar white light appeared below us. "Brace yourself."

"Same goes for you", I responded as the light swallowed us.

A few blinding moments later, we found ourselves in the air over a forest, but plummeting fast. Without even thinking I reach over and grab Raven around her waist with my right arm and pull her towards me. I then flipped us right-side up just before we made contact with one of many extremely tall pine trees. I land on a branch, and it immediately breaks. I land on another below it, and it also breaks. We were falling too fast and too hard for the branches to catch us so I improvised. Rather than expect the next brach to catch us, I quickly jump from it as it breaks and launch myself, Raven still in my grasp, to another tree. I aimed at the trunk rather than the branches. Right before making contact, I Changed into my wolf form and tract my claws from my left paw. I then dig my claws into the trunk of the new tree as we begin to slide downwards. Chips of bark flew everywhere as my claws scraped against the large tree. When I noticed we were still falling too fast, I dug my hind claws into the tree as well to slow us down further. When I felt we were close enough to the ground, I then launch off of the tree and scoop up Raven's legs with my left arm. I then immediately Change once again to my armored form. With one flap of my wings, I gently lowered us to the ground and came to a smooth, vertical landing.

I look down at Raven, preparing to ask if she was alright. However, I found myself trapped in her eyes as they looked up at me while in my arms. Her face blushed once again, and once again, our hearts began to stagger each other. That moment was almost as intense as when she and I had first met, to a point where as I stared into her eyes, I lose my grip on myself and unintentionally Change back into my human form. We remained like this for a few minutes, silent and motionless, when we heard a bird calling out somewhere in the forest. Upon hearing it we break eye contact and look around as if trying to find its source.

"Um, you can let me down now", said Raven as she looked back up at me. It was then that my face began to burn again for having realized I'd man-handled her yet again.

"Oh, whoops! Sorry", I say bashfully as I lower her feet to the ground and help her to stand. Not sure what I was supposed to do with my hands after releasing her, I stick them back in my pockets.

"Welp, guess we'd better take a look around", suggested Raven as she began walking towards the direction in which the bird was calling.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, sure", I said, once again bashfully. I then clench my right hand into a fist and quietly punch myself in the forehead as I remember that I could've simply teleported to the ground or levitated rather than grab Raven the way I did. Or for that matter, since Raven could levitate herself, I didn't need to assist her at all. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, I chant to myself as if I were scolding myself. We walked in silence through the forest, which we quickly discovered was on a large hill, for about ten minutes before she spoke again.

"O-kay. Any chance you know where we are", asked Raven, further uphill than me as she turns back to ask me.

"Sure, I do. We're in the forest."

"I'm aware of that, but _what_ forest?"

"If I knew that we wouldn't be walking…. walking", I interrupted myself as I had just realized that we were walking when we could've been flying. "Stupid, stupid, stupid", I chant again punching my forehead for a second time.

"Uh, are you okay", asked Raven. I look back up at her awkwardly to see her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm fine. I just realized that we could've been flying this whole time."

"You only _just_ realized this?"

"Obviously it didn't occur to you either", I said taking a step towards her.

"Says who", asked Raven as she took a step towards me. Upon seeing her do this, I instinctively begin walking towards her without even thinking.

"Well then why didn't you suggest we fly", I asked as I noticed Raven beginning to move even closer to me.

"I have my reasons."

"Oh yeah", I ask in a half-sarcastic, half-cheeky fashion.

"Yeah", she replies with the smallest grin.

"Really", I ask in a similar fashion.

"Really." It was at that moment, a pinecone falls and hits me on the head.

"Ow", I exclaim as I rub my the top of my head with my hand. Raven then giggles for a moment upon seeing me act out several different movie cliches, which in turn causes me to laugh as well. It was then I remembered what Raven had said about making her laugh. I then grew silent expecting her to retaliate, but instead I once again got lost in her eyes.

As my brown eyes locked with her gorgeous violet eyes, I could quite literally feel myself being drawn to them as my eyes suddenly started to feel heavy and my face felt like it was a car and the driver was cruising it towards Raven. I could feel my tail materializing behind me as I notice Raven mirroring my actions. At that moment, I could once again hear Raven's heartbeat as well as my own. They staggered and raced one another yet again as chills ran through my body upon realizing what was about to happen.

_This escalated quickly_, I think to myself jokingly as my face, only inches away from Raven's still continued to move closer to her. It was then that a couple more pinecones fell from the trees. One of which hitting Raven on the head, and another in my left eye. Our faces pull away from one another in response to this surprise ambush. Angry and irritated at being cock-blocked for the second time, I look up into the trees with a growl rumbling in my chest.

Up above were two squirrels, one male, one female. She had a nut in her mouth and was flirtatiously playing "hard to get" as she wagged her bushy tail, urging the hyperactive and horny male to follow her. He chased her in circles around the branches as the pinecones and needles fell off the trees in the process. Now feeling a hint of jealousy, in addition to my irritation, I growl once again at them. The two squirrels stop in their tracks and look down at me, curiously. Upon seeing their little faces directly head-on, I immediately recognized them.

_Wait a sec, I remember you two_, I thought to myself. However, I then noticed how relatively young they both were, like they were in the prime of their squirrelly lives. "That's impossible, you're dead", I said aloud with a hint of shock and surprise in my voice as I focus my attention on the male squirrel specifically. The two squirrels, as if they neither saw or remembered me, then turn and break to my left as they scampered from branch to branch further uphill. "Hey, wait up", I shout as I Changed into my wolf form and climbed the nearest tree to follow them.

As the pair of small rodents scampered and leapt from tree branch to tree branch, I followed them by mirroring and imitating their movements. I would also occasionally swing from branch to branch with my two front paws and sometimes my tail whenever the branches became to thin or "bendy" for me to run on. After a few minutes of pursuit, I look ahead to see that a minute or two uphill, the forest just cut off and ended. Beyond the border of the forest was a bit of an open field, that went on for about three yards to the top of the hill.

I drop back to the ground and return to all fours upon seeing another familiar sight. I look back into the trees to see the two squirrels as they disappeared into one of the trees that formed the border of the forest. I slowly walked over towards the tree as I noticed Raven hovering beside me as I approached.

"I know a part of you is canine, but do you really have to chase a squirrel simply because you looked at it?"

"It's not that", I said as we were only inches away from the squirrels' tree.

"Then what?"

"Those squirrels…."

"Yeah?"

"They should be older. Hell, one of them died already."

"You lost me, Fernando." Though she wasn't what I was focusing on at the moment, upon hearing her say my real name my fur began to stand up and chills once again ran down my spine.

Once I reached the tree, I circled around to the other side, where the border of the forest began. Towards the bottom of the trunk, right about where my eye level was, I saw five claw marks, tiny ones. They started left, and moved towards the right in a downward diagonal. Counting from left to right, the first claw mark was further spaced than the others were, like a thumb. I look down at my right paw as my "weird wolf thumb" that sits halfway up my arm towards my elbow kinda slides down to join the rest of my fingers on my paw, while at the same time becoming opposable.

Usually, due to years of practicing Changing my paw to either look more paw-like or more hand-like, this process was quick, immediate, and flawless. However, since I was looking and drawing direct attention to it, it looked slow, deliberate, and kinda gross looking. The same thing could be said whenever I Changed, usually quick and mystical-looking, but if dragged out and having attention drawn to it, it looked gross and painful to watch.

With my paw now with an opposable thumb, I tract my claws and imitate the suggested movements of the tiny claw marks as I "air claw" over them. I then place my paw on the trunk beside the claw marks. I looked in amazement how much bigger my paw was to the scrawny puppy-sized paw that made the claw marks. I then return my paw to the ground as I press my nose against the claw marks. I then close my eyes and inhale deeply.

It was then that visions of a small, black wolf cub flashed in my mind, sort of like a black-and-white flashback cliche from a movie. I saw the small cub growl awkwardly in anger as a teenage growl rumbled in a puppy's body. I then saw the pup rise to his hind legs, who on two legs stood at a mere three feet, my current eye level on all fours, and angrily drag his right paw across the trunk as his claws rip into the bark. The pup then turns to "me" as if I were watching him through a camera, to reveal that it had a pair of eyes that burned a bright yellow, like mine. My eyes shoot open as if I had woken up from a nightmare as I gasp for air.

"What's wrong", asked Raven. Without responding I wheel around and make a break for the top of the hill. I could hear her groan behind me as she flies after me. Once I reached the top of the hill, I come to a halt and look down at the road that led to the small town down below. I could feel my tail wagging as a smile stretched across my muzzle and my tongue hung out as I panted. It had been so long since I stood at the top of Radar Hill.

"Where are we", asked Raven as she joined me to my right.

"Box Elder, South Dakota", I said with a cheerful voice. "Raven, I…. I'm home."


	13. Memories

"Box Elder? _This_ is where you're from? _This_ is where you fought Doctor Light", asked Raven as if confused as to why either me or Doctor Light would ever be associated with the small town.

"Kinda sorta", I said briefly. I was so excited at seeing my home that I wasn't really engaging in the conversation like I normally would.

"What do you mean "kinda"?" Upon realizing that I answered two of her questions with a douchey half-ass answer, I immediately clarify.

"Box Elder is where I am from, but it isn't where I fought Doctor Light. I arrived in Jump City from Anchorage. Alaska."

"So you're a werewolf prince, that was born in South Dakota, and then moved to Alaska, and then created a wormhole, and then ended up in California?"

"Oh, it's a bit more complex than that."

"Try me."

"Hold that thought", I said, too excited to continue with the current conversation as implied by my tail that wouldn't stop wagging even if you had paid it. It'd been years since I had been back in the Black Hills, and the only thing on my mind was my Pack. The Patriot Pack. The first wolves I had ever trained other than the Elementals themselves.

My excitement caused me to envision me in my wolf form with my Pack. My vision was of all of us in the middle of the plains of Box Elder just randomly playing and spending the day together. No reason, no purpose, no cares or worries. In other words, another movie cliche. I imagined myself looking down at my Pack from on top of a small hill as if I were Bambi's father, or Mufasa standing on top of Pride Rock. Below me were eight werewolves, three cubs, and five adult she-wolves.

The first was April, my oldest sister and Beta of the Pack, who acted as Alpha in my absence. As far as werewolves go, her upcoming as a wolf is somewhat legendary in the South Dakota community. Her appearance alone already made her stand out above other werewolves, to a point that there was no way that anybody who saw her could mistake her for a dog or just a common wolf. She had bright, pink eyes, and her fur was a dark maroonish color that kinda looked like it had hints of purple in it, at least it did to me. She was the only member of her breed I had ever met with this unique color of fur.

With her were her two cubs, Amy (age 8) and Isaac (age 5). Both had pitch-black fur, he like her father, and she like me, her uncle. Amy's eyes also burned bright yellow like mine did, while Isaac shared his mother's pink eyes. Just like their mother, they too, were exceptional as far as werewolves go. Children born with lycanthropy, like my nephew, never obtain their power to Change until the reach the age of fourteen. The only exceptions to this rule were two breeds, Elemental wolves, who obtain their powers when they are born, and a breed of Asian male wolves known as Kogitsunes, who's "human" bodies involuntarily and permanently Changed as they grew and then completed when they turned fourteen. In addition, children with lycanthropy thrust onto them, like my niece, had a very low survival rate due to a human's immune system being at its weakest during their childhood years. I imagined the hyperactive Amy running around chasing and barking at anything that moved, while Isaac, still very much the baby of the family, stayed close to his mother's side.

Wolf number four was Charlotte, the Pack's Gamma, who doubled as Beta during either me or April's absence. Though being younger than both me and April, she was relatively bigger and more muscular than the rest of the Pack. She was arguably the Pack's strongest wolf and had the look to back it up. In addition to her large size, she also had extremely scruffy, gray fur. I always theorized that her refusal to groom her fur any more than "necessary" was to give the appearance of a wolf that always found her way into a fight, making her already threatening appearance even more intimidating. This was also the reason why, after a battle, she refused to let me heal any of her wounds or scars that weren't fatal or crippling. And if that wasn't enough reason for you to fear her, then you'd flip out if you ever made eye contact with her. When she Changed from human to wolf, her usual grayish-blue eyes turned pitch-black, almost like she doesn't have pupils at all. I think the only ones of us that didn't take her intimidating stare seriously were the cubs, who were all too young to fear Aunty Char.

Wolves number five and six were my younger sister Samantha, and her son Charlie (though he's too young to Change as he is only nearly 11 months old). Sammie was a gorgeous, and stunning wolf with beautiful, blonde fur and bright blue eyes. Sammie would always go out of her way to make me feel like I was an effective Alpha. Not only was she my little sister, but she was the very first wolf I trained in the Pack. She has been a part of my Pack and has called me "Alpha" even before my first Morph. The Pack wouldn't have been as strong as it was if not for her. In fact, I probably wouldn't be the werewolf I am today if not for her. Sammie, even in her time as a human, was always one of the prettiest and more popular kids in school, well she and Alyssa, wolf number seven and another blonde blue-eyed beauty of a she-wolf that was currently blessed with a 3 1/2-month baby bump.

And finally, wolf number eight, Mikaela. Dark brown fur with bright green eyes. She was the newest member of the Patriot Pack, and also the youngest, except for the cubs. She had moved to Box Elder from Germany, leaving her old Pack behind and joining ours. Though she was the newest recruit, and therefore was with us for the shortest amount of time, she quickly earned our trust. Plus she was great with the cubs. Sadly she couldn't stay with the Pack. After high school, she left Box Elder to pursue her college education in Oklahoma, and has been a lone wolf ever since. I knew my daydream was taking too long when Raven spoke again.

"Well?"

"Huh? Did you say something", I asked as I turned back at her.

"Usually when someone says "hold that thought", it typically means they're about to do something", she responded with her arms crossed, now getting a little irritated with me.

"Whoops, my bad. Just scanning my old territory", I lied to her through my teeth, too embarassed to say that I had randomly zoned out for a moment. _She's kinda cute when she's mad_, I thought to myself as I looked into her eyes once again, still gorgeous as always, but now ignited by her inner fire. I turn back towards the small town as I throw my head back and howl. With Mikaela now relocated to Oklahoma, and both April and Charlotte residing in my hometown's sister city, Rapid City, I was hopeful to hear the howls of Alyssa or Sammie. When no response came, I howled again. When my second howl didn't get a response, I noticed that nothing reacted to my howling. I didn't expect a reaction from the humans, due to them either not caring or simply mistaking me for a coyote, but I expected some kind of response from the animal community.

If you were to translate my howl into human English, it would translate to something along the lines of, "I am here". The purpose of my howl was to alert anyone within range that I was nearby, and for the animal community, this usually was enough of a reason to react depending on your species. Birds and wild rodents would scatter to safety. Domesticated dogs would bark in response, usually as an attempt to show dominance or mark territory of their own, which for them was limited to the houses and yards in which they individually lived. Large game would either stampede or calmly, yet briskly trot to a safer area. Livestock would gather closer together to decrease their chances of being hunted. Coyotes and cougars would hear my alert and either leave the area, or defy my alert and remain within Pack territory at their own risk. The only animals that weren't influenced by my howls were rattlesnakes, insects, and domesticated cats, all of which had lackadaisical attitudes about most other animals in general. The bottom line, animals, whether they liked me or not, whether they respected my title or not, tended to heed or at least acknowledge my howling, not just in Box Elder, but everywhere, so it came as a bit of a shock when nobody did.

_Guess everyone has gotten used to the wolves here_, I reasoned to myself as I Changed to my armored form. Once I became Gizamon, I did a bit of a cat stretch. I stretched my front legs in front of me as I lowered the front half of my body and stuck my rear into the air with my tail fully erect, once again forgetting that Raven was standing right behind me as she then cleared her throat.

"Oh, uh, *clears throat", I began as I shot back up to all fours awkwardly and bashfully after pretty much presenting my ass to Raven. "Follow me", I said as I flapped my wings and took to the sky. Raven then uses her powers to levitate and join my in the air before I turned to fly down the hill. The road was a straight shot down the hill and onto the highway. A couple of miles down the road, off to the right, was the gated entrance to my old neighborhood, Creekside Estates. If we were running, we would've continued down the road and then turned right, but since we were flying, I led Raven to a bit of a diagonal path that went over the gate, cut through a few yards and houses, and brought us to the corner of Pickarts Lane and Creekside Drive. I turn down Pheasant Place and come in for a landing at the second house on the left. The house was just as you expected from any neighborhood with the word "estates" in the title, large, stone, with a decorated and/or nicely cut lawn. I then Change back to my human form and walk up to the door. Raven followed me at my side.

"Who lives here", asked Raven, curious about why we were stopping at the relatively large house.

"A member of my old Pack, Alyssa Nightingale."

"Are you sure her last name is "Nightingale"", asked Raven as I rang the doorbell.

"Sure I'm sure, why?" I then look to my right at Raven as she points to the "family name plate" that hung in between the front door and the window on the porch. Instead of "Nightingale", it read "Buck". "Oh, shit", I said hoping the people who lived at that house weren't the people I thought they were. Suddenly, as if on cue, the door opens and a large and built white male steps out. Dressed in the cliche redneck attire of extremely faded out blue jean pants with tears and holes at the knees, a large, brown belt with a comically large belt buckle that almost made him look like he was from either Texas or Tennessee rather than South Dakota, and a stained, white "wife-beater" t-shirt that was tucked into his jeans. He stepped out through the front door and immediately turned to his right towards me. "Hey, Mr. Buck", I said weakly as I waved at him awkwardly. Instead of answering me he scanned his eyes back and forth, never once making direct eye contact with me. He then turns towards the front at the street and scans the area again. "Mr. Buck", I ask again trying to get his attention. I then walk up behind him to tap him on the shoulder. Much to my surprise when my entire hand passes through Mr. Buck's shoulder blade.

"Whoa", said Raven who was just as shocked as I was. Mr. Buck then turns back towards his open door and yells at his family inside.

"Abby!"

"What", screamed his teenage daughter from somewhere inside.

"How many times have I told you not to be associatin' with them nigglets up the road?"

"I ain't!"

"Then how come they ding-dong-ditchin' my damn door?"

"'Cause don't nobody like you!"

"Better watch yo' mouth", shouts Mr. Buck as he stomps back into his house and slams the door behind him. I look over at Raven as shock washed over her face.

"Wow. The neighbors here are…. interesting."

"Yeah, I forgot how much I hated that racist dick. Wait a second", I began getting back to a more important matter. "What happened with my hand", I asked Raven as I wiggled my fingers for emphasis. "Did you do that?"

"I don't think I'm doing anything", said Raven as she looked herself over as if she was looking for something that was out of place. It was at that moment that something occurred to me.

"Follow me", I say again as I Change to my wolf form and run onto the street and up the road down Pickarts Lane.

"Ugh. Wait up", said Raven as she flew after me. "Where are we going now", she asks as she flew beside me as I ran uphill.

"The Buck family shouldn't be living there."

"I don't think that's your call."

"That's not what I meant. They left Box Elder years ago. That last time they lived in that house was when I lived….", I interrupted myself as I came to a stop in front of the last house on the left before Pickarts Lane met the corner of Fox Trail Street. "…. here", I said after a dramatic pause due to looking at the house. It was shorter than the Bucks' house, but wider. On the driveway, in between the two garage doors, was a basketball hoop. It had cracks throughout the backboard, a piece of wood nailed to the back of it for support, and the bottom was weighted down by four large sand bags. I walk over to the right and walk up the steps and onto the front porch where the front door was. The porch was painted a light purple and stretched to the left. I look at the name plate to the right of the door expecting it to say, "Ross". Instead, it said, "Adams". It was at that moment I realized what was going on. "This is all starting to make sense now."

"What is", asked Raven as she returns to my side.

"Follow me inside and I'll explain", I said as I opened another shadow portal that led inside the house.

"Um, you don't live here."

"Actually, technically I do", I said as I pointed to the name plate. "You coming?" Without another word, Raven pulls the hood to her cloak down and follows me into the portal. We emerged from the portal into the living room of the house. The carpets were tan and the kitchen which was a few feet away had a wooden floor. Down the hall to the right of the front door was the master bedroom, passing the guest bedroom on the way. The staircase that sat with the kitchen on its right, the living room on its left, and the door to the garage in front of it, led downstairs to two more bedrooms, the laundry room, and another living room. I look to Raven and notice her about to say something, when someone emerged from the master bedroom.

Raven tensed up anticipating shock and alarm from the woman as she walked down the hall towards us. She was an overweight woman with curly grayish hair. She had palish, light skin, enough for her to pass as a white woman (in fact she still occasionally got mistaken for that), and she had bright red lipstick on her lips. She wore an outfit consisting mostly of the color brown, and around her neck was a multi-colored piece of jewelry that she specifically bought for the purposes of wearing it with her current outfit. Just as Mr. Buck did, she looked right through me and Raven as she walked by. Before she passes me, she stops and looks in my general direction. I instinctively let out as loud and as angry a growl as I could as if she could hear me. The very sight of that woman made me sick to my stomach, and I was furious at her. The woman then paces closer towards me, muttering to herself as if she was going through a mental checklist and was exploiting the fact that nobody was around to judge her for talking to herself. Upon seeing her step closer to me, I got even angrier. Normally I would've backed away slowly and continued to growl. However, in that moment, if she _could_ see and hear me, she'd be a fool to come at me. I stood my ground as if I were being challenged for the rank of Alpha and snarled at her. She moves a bit closer, and I started to bark. She moves even closer and I lose it completely. I swung my left paw at her as I attempted to claw her face. As if I was surprised and not expecting my claws to pass right through her, I get even more angry and unleash a barrage of slash attacks at her face, snarling and barking the entire time. After about a minute or so of me wilin' out, I pause at the sound of glass breaking.

The pale woman immediately turns around to locate the source of the sound. I lean to the left a bit so that I could see what had happened as well. A framed picture had "fallen" onto the floor, or so she thought. Since she couldn't see us, the woman had no idea that in actuality Raven had pushed the picture off of a shelf.

"Dammit", she said as she storms over to the mess on the floor. Raven floats out of her way as if she had any actual physical presence and returns to my side again. The woman picks up the frame and the picture that had fallen out and walks them over to the kitchen table. As she places them on the table she says, "I don't have time for this. I'll just have the boys vacuum the carpets when they get home." She then looks at her watch. "Shit, I'm late!" The woman then storms out the door leading to the garage. Once the door had closed, I turned to the large window behind me and stared outside towards the driveway. I waited until she had closed the garage door and pulled away in her red jeep before moving again. Raven, still at my side, mirrored my actions as we watched and waited in anticipation. Once the jeep was out of sight, I Change back to my human form and walk to the kitchen table.

The picture that laid there was actually two photographs that had been spliced together. It was divided down the middle, with the two separate photographs on each side of the white border that separated the two. The left photograph was of the same pale woman, but she looked younger. She sat in a rocking chair and was cradling a newborn African-American baby boy. The photograph on the right was set in the middle of a grassy field. Sitting in the center of the field was a white wolf with red eyes laying on her stomach and panting. Sitting in between her front legs and under her head was a tiny wolf cub. He had black fur and burning yellow eyes, and as he sat with the white wolf, he had the largest and most innocent smile a child could have stretched across his muzzle. As I stared at the two photographs, I started to get a gut-twisting pain in my stomach. My anger was starting to lean more towards depression. I could feel my eyes started to water up when my thoughts were interrupted by Raven.

"Are you okay?" I furiously blink my eyes and clear my throat before answering.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine", I lied.

"That woman just now, was she….", began Raven.

"Her name is Mildred, and she's my mother."

Upon finishing that sentence I immediately turned towards the nearby staircase and retreated downstairs. Once I had reached the bottom, which with the exceptions of the two bedrooms, the bathroom, and the laundry room nearby was all one additional living room, I turned left and rounded the corner. Straight in front of me, past the bookshelves, the keyboard, and two musical horns that my brother and I used for band class, was the door to my old bedroom. It was wide open. I had forgotten that my mother forbade me from closing my door for any reason.

I walked through the door and had the immediate feeling of nostalgia. My room was just as I remembered it. Posters all over the walls, toys and trinkets scattered on the shelves and countertops, pillows and stuffed animals piled on the floor in the corner because I was always too lazy to put them back on my bed every morning, everything as it was before I left South Dakota. I could feel myself becoming a bit less upset as I explored my old habitat and all of the toys I used to have.

I looked over at the dresser that sat next to the head of my bed. On the dresser was my old Curious George alarm clock. It read 7:35 am. Since Mom was home alone when we arrived, it was safe to assume that my brother and I were at school and she was running late to work. I grabbed the clock and set an alarm for 11:15 am.

_Just in case we wind up sticking around for a while_, I thought to myself as I returned the clock to its original spot. Right next to the clock were two deck boxes. The first one was green and had a picture of Mew on the front of it. I pick up the green box and open it to find my competitive Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) deck, with my best card "Torterra Lv.X"as the first card to be seen. I look through it briefly as it would stay exactly the same for the next several years. As expected, it was my grass/electric deck that never saw the light of an actual tournament before my retirement from the TCG. _Such potential_, I think to myself upon remembering how disappointing it was to have never tested that deck out.

I place the cards back in the Mew box and swap it out with the other deck box that was next to it. This one was red and simply had the words "Deck Box" written on it in black. I open it to see the signature card of my other competitive deck, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". This was my old Yu-Gi-Oh! deck that upon reflection was a stepping stone to the dragon deck I currently had in the "present". As I looked through the cards I chuckled a little to myself. Partially because I had my older consciousness and was laughing at how horribly unbalanced this deck was compared to my current one, and partially because the reason it was so unbalanced was because it was full of cards that were iconic and nostalgic, and had little to nothing to do with the actual theme or strategy of the deck itself. For example, since learning to play the game my specialty was always dragon-type monsters, so it made little sense for me to have cards like "Dark Magician", the "Ojamas", "Cyber Dragon", "Cyber Harpie Lady", and so forth in my deck. However this was probably justified because I was a naive child when I built this deck, and this was way back when Synchros were only just being introduced to the game and kids my age were still rejecting them for being so broken.

"Ah, memories", I say to myself as I look over to my right. Leaned against the dresser on the floor was what was probably my favorite toy ever. It was my old duel disk. At this point I was smiling like a child in the toy store as I picked it up and placed my amateur deck in the respective slot. I then strap the duel disk to my left arm and flip the switch underneath. It then imitates the activation motion from the anime as I make a battle stance as if I were a cosplayer at an anime convention. I had forgotten how much I loved that thing.

Eventually I take the duel disk off and continue searching through my old stuff. At some point during my stroll down Memory Lane, I sensed Raven watching me as I could once again hear her heartbeat, and my own heart staggering it. I didn't look up at her, but I knew she was there watching me, though she didn't say or do anything the entire time she stood there. Afraid that she was judging me, I try ignoring her by continuing to be a geeky nerd as I continued to rediscover my old toys. I eventually stumble across my collection of photo albums. It was at that moment that I finally work up the courage to look up at Raven, only to find that she was walking away into the living room. I wanted to say something to her, but no words came out as I hung my mouth open to try to speak. Instead I just take one of the albums and sit on my bed as I open it to a random page. The page in question caused my heart to skip a beat for a moment. It was an entire page dedicated to my ex-girlfriends, well four of them.

_Whoops. I forgot about this page_, I thought to myself as if I had caught myself in a lie. As I looked at the four photographs below, each taking their own corner of the page, each consisting of me standing with one of my exes with my arm around their shoulder, I could feel my torso starting to burn. My marks were reacting to seeing the faces of my old loves.

Nobody started taking my love life or my relationships seriously until after I left South Dakota. This was mostly because within the window of time of my first four relationships, I had my first girlfriend at the age of 11, and my fourth at the age of 14. Upon reflection I now completely understand why nobody took them seriously, because generally speaking, children don't fall in love that young (Hell, a lot of people don't take 18-year-olds seriously whenever they claim to have fallen in love), and they definitely shouldn't be dating at all while they're that young, at least in my opinion, though it did make me a bit of a hypocrite. However, I wasn't like other kids. My current views of dating were exactly the same as they were when I was 11, I would only date girls/women I fell in love with, and I did each time. I had the marks to prove it.

I don't know why, due to it never happening to the other Elementals, but every time I dated somebody, I knew I was in love with them because I would immediately obtain a spiral, that is a scar in the shape of a spiral on my torso, though it was only visible through the power of my aura. As I dated the woman in question, the spiral would slowly get bigger and bigger as time went on. When we broke up, the spiral would stop and be forever frozen at that given size. These spirals were confirmation that proved that I indeed fell in love with my exes, and it's what separated them from just harmless puppy love and crushes, and believe me, I had a lot of those, too. Over the course of 21 years of life, I currently had eight spirals burnt into my torso. The burning sensation that came with each spiral wasn't painful in any way, in fact I rarely could even feel it, but it was a real feeling of being burnt. As the years have passed, I've learned to live with this little weird branding, but there was one thing about it that always stood out to me, the spirals moved.

Like say you drew a sun on my torso. Now imagine there were eight black spots, all different sizes, that you drew in a circle around that sun. Now imagine that a new black spot, again a different size from the rest of them magically appeared in the circle of spots. Now imagine the previous eight spots shifting positions as they adjusted themselves to where all nine spots were equally spaced away from each other, and that they also adjusted their sizes so that they all could fit into the circle, while still keeping to scale when compared to one another. Thats basically what my spirals did every time I gained a new one, as if God felt it was imperative to make sure my weird scars due to my failed attempts at love were all aligned perfectly for His amusement. The bottom line was, I had currently fallen in love eight times, and all eight women involved, whether I made amends with them or not, were all still a part of me, and I couldn't change it or do anything about it. It was kinda like how Eragon was forever connected to Saphira for life due to that spiral-shaped burn on his hand.

_Actually my scars look kinda like Dragon Rider marks now that I think about it_, I thought to myself interrupting my train of thought. I looked back down at the page of four photographs.

Ex-girlfriend number one was the Princess of Light herself, Asia Hadi. After discovering that this Indian cutie was the Elemental of Light as a child, my brain and heart had assumed that we were destined to be together, and for the three months that we "dated", for a time, I thought it was true. We would soon discover that our love for each other was growing platonic as we both ended up mutually friend-zoning the other, but I never forgot how nervous I was when I walked up to her and "asked her out". Again, I was 11. In love or not, I was a child. Even if there was something between us at that age, I was _way_ too young to know what I was doing. Upon reflection, it was probably for the best that we didn't end up together. Besides, I was content with knowing that Andre made her happy, and in return she made him happy.

Girl number two was a lovely Latina named Julia Kaluza. Looking back on her as a 21-year-old man and not a lonely 13-year-old, there wasn't much to her, at least that I can remember. I am convinced that I may have fallen for her simply because of her looks. She had long, black hair, big lips, large, brown eyes, a great smile, and a curvy waist, but that's all I remember about her, well that and the fact that she only dated me to make her previous ex-boyfriend jealous. That would permanently burn a bridge for most people, but again, I was 13, I learned to live with it, and for the most part, I ended up okay.

Girl number three was Sammie. It's always awkward when I tell people that my little sister doubles as an ex-girlfriend, especially when they've never met or seen my sister and therefore are unaware that she is white and not related to me by blood. But in any case, Sammie was one of my best friends ever since I met her, and it only seemed natural that I would develop a crush on her and ask her out. Since I had developed a scar from her, I truly thought I fell in love with her just as I did with Asia. Ironically, my relationship with her ended exactly like it did with Asia, with the only difference being that she viewed me as her brother and I her as my sister.

And finally, coming in as girl number for was a Native American heart-throb named Star Whetstone. Much like Julia, there wasn't much to her other than her looks. In fact I think the only factor that separated Star from Julia was the difference in their sex lives. To put it simply from the lowest common denominator of a teenage boy's mind (as dumb as we all were at that age), Julia was known throughout school for teasing, whereas Star was known for pleasing. I hated admitting it, but Star was basically what you would call the "school slut", and I fell for her the same way I fell for Julia, for her beauty and nothing else. Ironically, Star's beauty was about as deep as Julia's, that is to say, not at all deep. She wound up dumping me because "I couldn't keep up with her". At 15 years old, I wasn't as comfortable with sex as she was, and ultimately she got bored with me and moved on to somebody else.

But as shallow and one-dimensional as Star and Julia were, I still, for whatever reason, fell in love with them, and developed scars from it. They were and will always be, a part of me. With that said, I did eventually forgive them and added them on Facebook as I got older just so I can say that I knew they were alive and well, though as expected, we all just kinda stopped talking to one another as we got older. But all the talk of love and scars and whatnot aside, as the Prince of Darkness, I felt I was obligated to keep in contact, though extremely limited and basic contact, with them because I would soon learn that being associated with me was the equivalent of living with a bullseye on your back.

As the years went by and I grew older, I faced and fought against all kinds of villains, crooks, criminals, and evildoers, several of which challenged or wanted my powers, and came at me by targeting those close or meaningful to me. Asia was already a target for being an Elemental herself, and I was personally responsible for turning Sammie into a werewolf, but long after breaking up with them, Julia and Star both crossed into the world of the mutant community by way of abduction and experimentation, just for having dated me one time. I taught them how to control their powers just as I did with my Pack, and they went on to live their lives as respectable and educated mutants, but because of their association with me, they will always be potential targets or bait, so it was only fair that I promised them the protection of the Elementals since it was technically because of the Elementals that they were cursed with such a dangerous life.

_Evil follows me wherever I go, it's not my fault_, I think to myself as I remembered how I had to explain to their parents who and what I was and how it would affect their daughters' lives. I remembered how the angry humans didn't care that I couldn't help being born the way I was, or that my title I am forced to live with decreases my chances of getting close to anyone because of the danger I might present. They were just angry and wanted someone to blame. Their children were now mutants, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Star's family even went as far as to say that I "tainted their family legacy".

As I remembered the huge downside that came with associating with me, it was at that point that I started to become depressed again. What started out as reminiscing on old times, was turning into reliving old pains and heartbreaks.

_Brothers, I'm sorry_, I thought to myself as I began feeling sorry for myself as I felt that there was no way I could fulfill the vow I made to the other Elementals. It was at that moment I heard a familiar sound. It started off with a loud "click" sound. And then it was immediately followed by a loud sort of jingle that you'd most likely find as a default option for a cellphone ringtone. It was coming from outside my bedroom in the living room. Raven had turned on my Nintendo Wii.

My ears twitched as I waited for a moment to hear what game she was playing. The music that followed consisted of drums, a few bass horns, and a somewhat eerie sounding choir. She was playing "Super Smash Brothers Brawl".

_There is a hot girl, outside of my bedroom, playing video games, yet I'm still in here. Why_, I asked myself as I closed the photo album and walked out to the living room. I walk over towards the t.v. to see that Raven hadn't wasted any time setting up her game. She was playing free-for-all with three CPU's, all set at level 7. She was playing as Zelda. As I stood behind her watching her play, I found myself quickly growing out of my funk about my exes and my bitch of a mother as I found yet another reason why I was crazy about Raven. She was good, _really_ good.

I grab myself a chair and place it off to her right so that I could see the t.v. screen from another angle, but also so I could get a look at Raven as she played. Much to my surprise when I saw her still with her monotoned look as her fingers ferociously attacked the Gamecube controller she held in her hands as she played. And then I found myself once again getting lost in her eyes. Her eyes were not only gorgeous, but they were like black holes. Once I made eye contact with her, I tended to get sucked in, unable to escape.

_I think Ne-Yo said it best when he said, "and I just can't break myself away, but I don't want to escape"_, I thought to myself as I remembered a lyric from the R&amp;B singer's hit song, "Closer". I snapped out of my trance when I heard the screen shout, "game", which told me that I was staring at Raven for _way _too long. _Hopefully she didn't notice_, I think to myself as I notice Raven still looking at the screen despite my gawking at her. I look back at the screen to see that Raven was victorious at her game. It was then that I decided to finally say something to break the awkward silence.

"Nicely done", I said.

"Piece of cake", she responded confidently. I chuckle in response, not knowing what to say next. "How much time do we have until the alarm goes off?" I assumed she was referring to the clock in my room. I look behind Raven at the large clock on the wall. It read 8:45 am.

"About two and a half hours", I responded.

"That'll be plenty of time for you to give me that explanation you owe me", she said as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I could feel my face blushing again having forgotten that I promised her an explanation upon entering the house.

"Whoops. My bad", I said bashfully as I scratched the back of my neck.

"You realize you owe me, right?"

"What do you mean", I asked her with my eyebrow now raised.

"You owe me a milkshake, that is, unless you beat me", said Raven. Her eyes were as inviting as ever as a smile appeared on her face as if to say, "bring it on". I couldn't help but smile, as there was no way in Hell that I was gonna turn down her challenge. I turn the palm of my right hand up and extend my right arm towards her as if to say "pass it here". Raven then tosses me the Wii remote. Once I catch it, I then lean over to the shelf I was sitting next to and grab me a nunchuk and connect it to the remote. I then turn back to Raven, her smile and eyes still inviting me to play with her, causing my smile to grow a little bigger.

"Game on."


	14. 2184

30 minutes later, I found myself getting creamed at Smash Brothers yet again by Raven's flawless gameplay. I had been playing this game for years, and she was making me look like a novice. I was no match for her and she knew it. She also found it hilariously amusing.

"Hahaha. So how many milkshakes do you owe me so far", asked Raven in between her laughter with a smug look on her face.

"Three", I respond with my arms crossed as I sink into the chair I was sitting in. I then look over to my left to see Raven doing a little victory dance. Except it wasn't just a little jig that people did whenever they were victorious at something, Raven was legitimately dancing, in fact she was doing "the monkey". She even went as far as to add her own little twist by adding a cute little hip movement to the dance. Upon seeing her do this, my frustration with losing the video game melted away as I found myself staring at her hips. It was also at that point that a huge and cheesy-looking grin stretched across my face, and I started to _react_. Now feeling a familiar sense of panic, I quickly look down at _myself_ while Raven isn't looking and cross my legs upon realizing that I couldn't get out of the chair, not unless I wanted her to know, which I didn't. I look back up at Raven's cute little dance and notice that her eyes were closed and her smile had returned to her face, bigger than ever. It was like she had forgotten that I was there. She was just lost in her own little world, jammin', and happy. Though I had only known her for a few days, I knew this was a rare sight that I was witnessing. _Why must you try to hide this side of you_, I thought to myself as I compared this happy dancing Raven, to the monotoned persona she made great efforts to express on a daily basis.

My thoughts were immediately interrupted when I noticed a large book on the bookshelf behind her outside my room "glowing" black. It was cloaked in her aura. Upon realizing this, as if on cue, the book shoots off of the shelf and flies towards us. It misses Raven's face, but just barely (the closeness of the book as it rushed by her face was enough to snap her out of her dance), and flies at me. Still in the chair, I lean back so that it'll miss me, but then it adjusts its path and follows me. Unable to escape it, I fall backwards in the chair as the book's spine slams square-on into my nose. Raven then gasps as she rushes over to assist me.

"Oh, my God! Are you okay", she asks as she stands over me. Before I answered I found myself resisting the urge to look up her cloak.

_Come on, Fernando! You're better than that! Plus you just got the cool-down you wanted_, I thought to myself upon realizing that my boner had disappeared. "Yeah, I'm okay. Webster is just a dick, that's all", I say jokingly as I look over to see that it was a dictionary that attacked me. Raven chuckles for a moment at my joke before speaking again.

"Need a hand?"

"That would be nice." Raven then walks around to where my feet were propped up due to me falling in the chair and reaches over and offers me her hand. I stretch my arm towards her and grab her hand with mine. She then begins to pull me up. I was going to suggest she helped me from the side because it'd probably be easier and because I wasn't exactly light, but much to my surprise when I saw her actually managing to lift me up, at least enough to where I could begin to lift myself up. With one last tug, Raven manages to get me onto my feet, but soon lost her balance due to my weight and stumbles backwards. To keep her from hitting the wall I pull her back towards me, but did so a little too hard. _Dammit, Fernando! Stop man-handling her_, I think to myself as Raven pushes into me. I then notice that she had pushed me back far enough to where the backs of my knees collided with the still knocked over chair, causing me to fall backwards again, but this time with Raven pressed against me. I grunt in pain for a moment before I start to laugh for having fallen into the exact same position as before. Upon realizing what just happened, Raven also begins to laugh with me. Eventually our laughter dies down as we make eye contact with one another.

It was then that I seriously struggled to not get lost into her eyes again as that would almost always happen every time I looked into their beauty. I also noticed at that point that my tail was also trying to wag on its own again, but only wasn't because my weight was preventing it. And lastly, I noticed that one of Raven's hands was placed over my heart as it raced faster and faster like it was running an Olympic race. I then felt my face moving closer to hers just as it did earlier that day in the woods. We come to a stop when we hear the rushing sound of something else flying over us. We then look over to my left (her right) in time to see another framed picture crash into the wall. I look back at Raven just in time to see her blush as she levitates off of me and floats over towards the picture. As she floated away from me, I noticed she had grown quiet and that her head was hanging a little low.

"What's wrong", I asked her as I awkwardly rolled off of the chair and rose to my feet.

"My powers…. they're…. it's", she began with her back turned towards me.

"Having trouble controlling them?"

"Something like that."

"Need any help?"

"No, I'm fine. Really, it's nothing", said Raven sort of defensively as if she could see my doubt and suspicion through the back of her head. "Besides, you've got some explaining to do", said Raven as she then floats past me and takes a seat on the nearby couch. I was tempted to call her out on trying to change the subject, but the fact of the matter was, I technically had been doing the same thing since we had arrived in Box Elder, and I didn't want to be a hypocrite.

"Alright then, ask away."

"Okay then, first thing's first, where are we?"

"Box Elder", I said with a cheeky grin.

"You know that's not what I meant." I chuckle a little more before giving her the serious answer.

"I don't know what the term for this would be, but it's like we took the concept of time travel and combined it with the concept of reliving memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Well speaking based off of movies and such, if I were reliving my memories, then we'd be observing specific events without being able to interact with anything. And if we had traveled back in time, then everyone should still be able to see us. But somehow neither one seems to be the case. We're in the past, yes, but somehow we became invisible and independent spirits in the process. Not only can people not see us, but we aren't bound by my past self, and we can somehow still interact with inanimate objects."

"I don't think people can hear us either. I mean you practically cursed out you mom earlier." It was then I remembered how neither Mr. Buck or the two squirrels noticed me talking to them, and how nobody noticed my howling earlier. "What's up with that by the way", asked Raven as I snap out of my inner thoughts.

"What's up with what?"

"You and your mom." Without saying anything, I walk over to the couch and take a seat on the far other side of it. "Hey, I didn't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's okay. She and I, we've just never seen eye-to-eye." I ended that topic there without another word. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Well, you could tell me about this house, or about your hometown. You told me it was a bit complex to explain. I don't seem to have anywhere to go at the moment."

"Okay, then." I pause for a moment to get my thoughts together before speaking. "Well, I was born in Oklahoma City, and moved to Portugal when I was a year old. After that, I moved to Japan when I was four, and then here when I had just turned twelve."

"Where at?"

"Excuse me?"

"Where in Japan did you live?"

"I take it you've been there?"

"We visited Tokyo once a couple of years ago. Strictly for business of course", she said with a raised eyebrow and a small grin.

"Oh yes, of course. Business." We both chuckled at our silliness for a moment before I continued. "I was on the tropical island of Okinawa for about five years, and then moved up to the mountains of Misawa, about eight to ten hours North of Tokyo."

"Sounds cold."

"I know, it was awesome."

"Weirdo."

"Look who's talking", I said as I moved my arms in my seat pretending to do "the monkey". We both chuckle again. "What were y'all doing in Tokyo?"

"We were lured there by a shaman called Brushogun."

"Oh, I remember him. His terror was well-known throughout Japan the last time I was there. I heard rumors that say that the last time anybody saw him, he became some giant glob of ink and destroyed a comic book company."

"Oh, that wasn't a rumor, that was fact. I was there. We all were."

"No way! That was you guys? You destroyed Brushogun?"

"Not exactly. Turns out he was just a puppet."

"How so?"

"Long story."

"I've got nowhere to go", I said as I pulled my shirt over my head pretending to be Raven with her cloak's hood pulled up. Raven giggles with her hand over her mouth before continuing.

She told me the story about how an ink warrior called Saico-Tek attacked Jump City, luring the Titans to Tokyo to investigate. She told me how Brushogun had been captured by Tokyo's former hero Uehara Daizo and was forced into slavery as he made him create monsters using his powers via a special printing press. A quiet growl rumbled in my chest upon learning the true colors of former Commander Daizo.

"What about you", asked Raven once she had finished her story.

"Me?"

"Sure. I'm sure you have some stories as well."

"*scoffs, you don't know the half of it." That one sentence led us into an endless conversation that consisted us of sharing stories about the people we'd met, the villains we'd fought, and the fun times we'd shared with our friends. I don't remember which villains I told Raven about. The only stories I remembered sharing with Raven were ones about my Patriot Pack, though I left out how my Pack came about gaining their powers. I told her how Mikaela left South Dakota after high school, and how April and Charlotte expanded the Pack's territory by moving to Rapid City. As for the others, Alyssa and her boyfriend bought and moved into the Buck family's old house some time after they left, and Sammie moved into my old house with her husband Nathaniel, where they soon had their first child, Charlie. I also told her about one of my former friends, Alex Polinski, before he went rogue and betrayed the Pack.

Raven's on the other hand, I remembered all by heart. She told me stories about five villains. One was a sadistic, mad scientist called Killer Moth, one was an overweight super-nerd called Control Freak, one was a masked psychopath called Slade, one was a hypnotic, and obsessive old man called Mad Mod, and one was a mentally unstable magician called Mumbo.

"Wow, and I thought the people I fought were crazy", I said upon thinking about Raven's story about how Robin was forced into a high school prom with Killer Moth's batshit-crazy daughter.

"Yeah, you missed out on a lot."

"Sounds like it. Can't wait to meet up with these guys."

"Trust me, you can live without meeting those weirdoes."

"Fair enough. I mean, I don't know how you top psycopathic magician."

"Well there was the one time we built the Titans Tower out of a crashed space ship."

"That's how you built that thing? And here I thought Cyborg was just a construction worker."

"Hahaha. No, we just used the parts and rebuilt the ship into the tower."

"Well that might explain why it's sitting on its own island. But how did y'all even get that ship to crash?"

"Well it all started about four years ago when we all met. I was in an alleyway when I saw Robin fighting a rampaging alien girl with orange skin." She was obviously talking about Starfire.

"Why am I not surprised by that", I asked sarcastically. It was then that I heard the sound of a rooster crowing. It was 11:15 am, and my alarm clock was going off.

"Isn't Curious George a monkey", asked Raven suspiciously.

"Yeah, apparently my parents bought it from the back of some guy's truck."

"Naturally."

"Of course." We both chuckle again for a moment before I rose to my feet. "So, shall we", I asked Raven as I Changed to Lobomon and assumed my gentleman pose that I did a couple of nights ago when I led Raven back to her room.

"Where to", asked Raven, still seated on the couch.

"If there's one thing I've learned from this small town, it's that everything pops off during the lunch hour."

"Okay, but where are we going?"

"To a twisted, horror-filled environment that's so nerve-racking, so cut-throat, so fowl that your heart will go into cardiac arrest for the entirity of the visit and your palms will sweat floods just from walking through the front door", I responded in my Yami Bakura voice.

"I see. I thought maybe you were going to take me to your old high school or something."

"That's what I said, isn't it", I asked returning to my normal voice. Raven giggles again. My tail begins to wag upon being once again successful at making her laugh.

"You're funny. I bet you talk to all the girls like that."

"Only the really cute ones." Raven then pushes her hair out of her face as I notice her cheeks starting to blush. _Keep it going, keep it going!_ "Shall we", I repeated. Raven then rises to her feet and bows to me just as she did the other night.

"Lead on." Raven then floats behind me as I trot upstairs and turn left towards the front door. I then open another shadow portal and step to the side to let Raven pass through first, which I hoped translated to her as being the equivalent of holding the door open for her.

_I just got this hot gothic chick to laugh at my joke and I'm holding doors open for her all while standing on four legs without any thumbs. Meanwhile, most other guys can do neither task with thumbs. Suck it, humans_, I thought to myself as I hoped I was impressing Raven. Once I had followed her through the portal and we were back outside, I turned right and led her back downhill towards Creekside Drive. Once we reached the bottom of the hill, I lead Raven across the street and past the Bucks' house.

"I thought we were going to your high school", said Raven as we soon left the street and headed towards the grassy hilltop behind the wall of houses that made up Pheasant Place.

"We are, but I wanna check something first", I said as I came to a halt at the edge of the hill. Below us was a relatively steep ("relatively" meaning that most humans couldn't safely scale it or even be bothered with it) dropoff that led to an open plain, which then led to the main highway of the town. The highway itself consisted of two streets, one leading left towards the city border, and the other leading right further into town. On the other side of the two streets, starting near the city border, from left to right was a small casino, a strip club, a pawn shop, and a trailer park, which sat at the bottom of the hill where the highway had a left turn leading uphill towards the Air Force Base.

"What are we checking for exactly?"

"Oh yeah, I never finished that part."

"What part?"

"Well, like I said, I moved here when I had just turned twelve."

"Yeah?"

"Well I wound up living here for about three years, taking me through my middle school years, and only my first year in high school."

"So?"

"So, since we don't know how far back in time we went, I'm checking to see if this is my freshman year of high school or not."

"And how will you determine that?" It was then, as if on cue, something caught my eye over towards my left.

"There. That's how", I said as I pointed my claw towards a patch of tall grass on the other side of the closest street. From down below, if you were walking by on the same leveled ground, you wouldn't be able to see what lurked inside. But from where we stood at the top of that hill, you could clearly see it. From inside the tall patch of dead prairie grass, was a young and hungry werewolf with pitch-black fur.

"Fernando, is that….", began Raven.

"Here comes lunch now", I said pointing further towards the left, outside of the city border. Among the usual traffic of cars, was a man riding a moped, which had…. character, to be polite about it. It had a rusty color to it, it was full of dings and scratches, and it's model looked like it was from the year 2001, which even during the time I was living in Box Elder, was old. The rider himself was covered from head to toe wearing all black leather. On his feet were thick, steel-toe, black army boots, around his neck was a black bandana with the generic white patterns all over it that came with most bandanas that people bought by the dozen, and on his head was a black motorcycle helmet, which surprisingly looked more expensive than the moped itself. The rider had just passed the city border, entering Box Elder, and was about to pass the wolf's hiding place when Raven spoke again.

"Should I be concerned?"

"Just watch. And get ready", I responded as I Changed into Gizamon. When the moped rider was close enough, the wolf emerged from the tall grass and lunged at him with a mighty roar, so mighty that even Raven could clearly hear it, without the use of super werewolf hearing, enough for her to gasp, despite her knowing full well what was going to happen. However, the moment of shock and terror was short-lived, because the rider neither panicked or was shaken, as indicated by his maneuver as he swerved out of the wolf's airborne path, causing him to tuck and roll across the road into the grass on the other side before he could rise back up to his paws. The rider then revs the engine a couple of times and then flips a switch on the handle bars, activating some kind of turbo boost (I don't really know how motorcycles work or the terminology for them) as he speeds off down the road. The moped was now traveling fast enough to where it could pass as a motorcycle. The wolf, now back on his paws, roars again and then chases after the rider down the highway. "That's our cue", I said to Raven as I opened my wings and dove over the edge of the hill.

"If I had a nickel for every time I followed you today with only a small fraction of vague information to go off of….", began Raven as she flew after me.

"Hey, I like to keep you on your toes", I said with a grin as I looked back at her. By the time Raven had caught up with me, I was already flying above the wolf's hunt. Despite the rider's speed boost, the wolf was doing an exceptionally well job of keeping up with him. I look further ahead up the road, where the highway had its left turn that led up the hill. There was a team of three men, and a fourth man with a dump truck full of dirt. They were there to fill in a large trench that someone or something dug up on the side of the road on the other side of the turn. They had just gotten to that spot, as indicated by the fact that they were in the process of setting up the warning traffic signs, but the driver of the truck had already, I assumed by accident, poured a small patch of dirt in the middle of the road. "Ha! I remember this", I shouted as my tail began to wag in excitement. I noticed Raven shaking her head jokingly at me out the corners of my eyes upon hearing me.

The wolf, now so close behind the rider's machine at this point that if he were chasing a deer rather than a moped, this would be the point during the hunt that he starts nipping at its legs, noticing the workers up ahead lunges at his prey once again, this time with a smaller leap. With quick thinking, the rider swerves towards the right slightly and then uses the outward movement to prepare for a wide turn to the left.

"Heads up, Hard Hats", he shouts, probably because his machine wasn't equipped with a horn. Upon hearing him, the workers, the exception being the guy in the truck, all scamper out of his way, but get drenched in a cloud of dust as the rider drifts through the dirt to make his turn. "Sorry", he cries back to them as he drives off. The wolf, stumbling, but not crashing, from his second failed lunge leaps forward again, and like his prey, uses the dirt to his advantage as he, too, drifts for a moment before speeding to his left after the rider.

"Whoops, my bad", the wolf shouts to the workers as he runs away.

"Stupid kids", shouts one of the workers as he shakes his fist in the air like another movie cliche. I notice Raven looking at me out the corners of my eyes again as we turned left and flew after the wolf and his prey. As they traveled uphill, I look up ahead towards the right to see a Pizza Hut, which they were about to pass. It was then that the wolf gets a second wind and speeds up as he prepares for one final attack. With one final roar, the wolf lunges at the rider again, but deliberately does so in a way that even if he missed, he would safely land on all four paws and keep running. The rider then swerves to the left and out of the wolf's path, but in doing so, played into the wolf's hands, well paws rather. Once he had landed, the wolf immediately leaps towards his left, straight into the rider, who at this point was too close to him to dodge. He tries to hit the brakes with the hope that he would stop his bike enough to where the wolf would shoot past him, but to no avail. He exclaims in shock as the wolf tackles him off of his bike and into the grassy area on the side of the road. The bike, now without a rider, continues on its own for a moment before crashing on its side in the middle of the road, fortunately there were no cars around at the time.

"Oh, my God", shouts Raven.

"He's fine, watch." We fly over and land beside them in the grass to see the rider playing with the wolf as if he were a dog. The rider laid on his back, petting the wolf through his leather gloves as the wolf playfully nipped and tugged at his thick, leather jacket.

"What the….", began Raven before I cut her off.

"You see, two months into my freshman year, my now brother-in-law, Nathaniel, who was a junior at the time, dropped out of high school and became a delivery boy for the Pizza Hut we just passed. Since pizza was 90% of my diet back then, I would order delivery for lunch all the time. One day, as a prank, I requested for him specifically. I thought it'd be funny to hunt down my pizza mid-delivery. What started out as a one-time thing turned into a weekly thing, and then into a daily thing.

"I say again, you're a weirdo."

"Yeah, but we're friends", I respond with a cheeky grin. It was then that the wolf, now revealed to have burning, yellow eyes, broke away from the rider and headed towards the crashed moped.

"Alright, alright, take your trophy. It's all I'm good for anyway", said the rider sarcastically as he sits up and takes off his helmet. The rider revealed himself to be my brother-in-law, Nathaniel Ross, a thin, yet built white boy, born and raised in Box Elder. He had a bit of acne on his face, mostly between his cheeks and his nose, and he wore glasses.

"Aw, nobody likes a sore loser, Thanny Boy", said the wolf as he investigated the bike's cargo hull, which Nathaniel had constructed out of an old pet carrier and attached it to the back of the bike. The wolf pried it open with his claws and pulled out the black delivery bag that held the pizzas.

"Top one's yours", said Daniel as he rose to his feet and walked towards the wolf. The wolf had already begun digging into the pizza before even pulling the box out of the bag it was in. "Easy, easy", said Daniel as he yanked the wolf from the bag by the scruff of his neck. He then closes the pizza box and pulls it from the bag. After that, he tosses it off to the side into the grassy area. The excited wolf races towards it and immediately continues to eat his meal. "Bring your A game tomorrow, I've got a new engine I wanna try out." The wolf simply barked twice in response. "Alrighty then, later, Fernando. Enjoy your pizza." And with that Nathaniel rode off back down the hill. I look back at my younger self, who by the way was the same size as me in my wolf form, as he devoured his pizza like an animal at the zoo.

"Damn. I was hyperactive back then."

"That's putting it lightly", said Raven sarcastically. It was around this moment that my younger self had just polished off his meal. He then folds up the box with his paws, and then begins to dig a hole in the ground. "What're you doing", asked Raven.

"I was also pretty lazy back then, too." Once my younger self had finished digging, he pushed the box into the hole. After that, he lifted his paw, and from it came a small fireball of purple, black, and red. The fireball shot into the pit the wolf had dug and began to burn the empty pizza box. The wolf then lets out a large yawn as he curls up beside the tiny bonfire for a nap. It was then that a low, rumbling-like noise could be heard coming from the wolf's chest, except it wasn't his usual growl, this sound sounded more feline than canine.

"Are you…. are you purring?"

"By the way, did I mention I'm part cat", I asked Raven with a cheeky grin as I Changed my eyes from purple to blue for effect.

"How exactly does that work?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"It's too crazy to believe."

"How crazy can it be?"

"Okay then. After I turned fourteen, I was haunted by the ghost of a cat, who would follow me around and heal my injuries whenever I got hurt. As an unpredicted side effect, I gained a new form." To further prove my point, I Change into a form I hadn't yet revealed to the Titans. As I Changed, my wings shrunk back into my back, and my mane grew even larger and more defined. My tail, which was bushy with a thick layer of fur all over it, Changed into a long, slender one with a thinner layer of fur, with a bushy tuft of it at the end. My paws grew even bigger, my muzzle, shrunk a bit, but became wider, and my roar was much more dominant and defined as my body underwent the Change from canine to feline. When the Change was complete, I stood before Raven as a four-foot tall, melanistic African lion with blue eyes. In this form, I referred to myself as Pantheramon.

"So that's it? That's the story to justify the fact that you're a lion?"

"Um, well let me see: ghost, cat, lion", I began as I counted on the toes of my front paw as if they were human fingers. "Uh, yeah, that's pretty much it."

"In that case, yeah, you're right. That is too crazy to believe."

"Told ya so." It was at that moment that a small gust of wind blew behind us, and with that, something caught my nose's attention. "Hey, do you smell that", I asked as I turned to look behind us. Raven awkwardly sniffed at the air, awkwardly in the sense that she was human-shaped and not animal-shaped, so it looked kinda weird for her.

"I smell old pizza and dead grass, so unless that's what you smell, then I've got nothing." I sniff the air again, this time deeper. The smell was sharp and strong, and familiar. "I smell…. it kinda smells like…. spray paint."

"Spray paint?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure of it. Follow me", I said as I trotted back towards the Pizza Hut.

"Why am I not surprised by this", asked Raven sarcastically as she flies after me. We were just entering the Pizza Hut parking lot when another gust of wind bombarded us with the smell. "Yep, now I smell it. It does smell like paint." We then turn to our left and the parking lot next door. As we walked over to it, we saw that the small parking lot housed half a dozen school buses. At the edge of the parking lot, right at the point where we passed to enter it, there was a pole with a billboard-like sign at the top of it that read, "Property of the Douglas Patriots". "School mascot", asked Raven as she pointed up at the sign.

"Yep."

"And it's safe to assume that you named your Pack after it as well?"

"Yep again."

"Lack of an imagination at the time?"

"Wow, you're on fire today, aren't you", I asked with a cheeky grin as I walked further into the bus lot. Off in the corner, separated from the rest of the buses, sat three of the six school buses. Two of which were painted green, and the third had its front half painted green while its back half remained yellow, indicating that they didn't finish painting it.

"So, is this place doing anything for your memory?"

"It is. The chase with Nathaniel isn't the only reason why this day stands out to me."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know what the exact day is, but I distinctly remember the smell of spray paint as I ate my pizza today due to the buses undergoing their annual spray painting for St. Patrick's Day. I had never been near the bus lot during this time before, so I remember the one time I was like it was yesterday. The month is March, and the year is 2009, approximately six years ago.

"Any particular reason this is so significant?"

"Do you remember the day we met", I asked as I turned back to Raven.

"Like it was four days ago", she responded jokingly. I smiled for a moment as I walked up to her.

"Just keep that in mind", I said as I walked up to her left and lowered myself to the ground and looked up at her. Raven, confused by my gesture simply raises an eyebrow. I respond by motioning my head towards my back.

"Um, won't I need like a saddle, or something?" I then thought it'd be cute to imitate the voice of the Russian tiger from "Madagascar 3" to reassure her.

"'Tis fine, Raven. Take a feel, go ahead. 'Tis soft like kitten, no", I ask as I trail my tail along my spine. Raven then walks up to my back hesitantly with her hand stretched out. Chills shoot throughout my body as Raven's orgasmic fingers awkwardly explored my feline fur. Once she had gotten a feel for how my fur "worked", she began combing her fingers through it as she petted me. The large panther that laid before her began purring something fierce as his long and slender tail began to wag as if he was still in his wolf form. I turn my head back towards her and smile, and she rewards my smile by reaching for my left ear with her free left hand. Once she had gotten a hold of it, she began massaging it with her thumb. It was then that my right back leg began to thump the ground again like it did the night I joined the Teen Titans. Raven giggled at the sight of a large jungle cat acting like a spazzing puppy, and in her defense, I probably looked a bit ridiculous, but I didn't care, it felt amazing. I was perfectly content with staying with Raven like that forever. However, like every other time I tried to get closer to Raven, something interrupted it, this time in the form of a school bell, though I was the only one who could hear it between the two of us. Upon hearing it I turn my head away from Raven and twitch my ears.

"What is it?"

"Take a look", I said as I motioned my head back uphill towards where my younger self was sleeping.

"Shit", he exclaimed as he shoots to his paws and begins burying the bon fire.

"The school bell is ringing, and I'm about to be late for class." I then motion my head to my back again as if to say, "hop on". Raven, now familiar and more confident in the softness of my fur, climbs onto my back and adjusts her cloak to where she wasn't sitting on it. I could feel the fur along my neck and spine stand up as I felt the smoothness of her beautifully sculpted legs strattling the sides of my torso. Don't screw up, don't screw up, don't screw up, I thought to myself, now feeling nervous about Raven riding on my back to the point where I almost regretted suggesting it. I immediately snap out of my whining when I notice my younger self starting to run further uphill as he just finished putting out the fire. "Hang on", I said as I thought to myself, _I always wanted to try this_. I then rise up to my back legs and paw at the air with my front paws, pretending to be a horse acting out yet another movie cliche of a horse rider preparing to ride off in a dramatic fashion. As I pawed the air I roared as loud and ferociously as I could. At first, poor Raven was nearly thrown off my back due to not being prepared for my spontaneous need to be dramatic, but she quickly recovered as she dug her fingers into my mane and positioned herself on my back as if she rode racehorses for a living. Once I was certain Raven was secure and ready, I returned to all fours and took off after the young wolf.

Most people assume that when comparing two animals of different species, that it's usually the smaller one that's the fastest. Unfortunately, most of those people had never met me. Though the wolf was younger, weighed less, smaller, and more agile, even with Raven on my back, not only was I just as fast, I was also faster. After a few moments of chasing the wolf as an invisible lion, I found myself running much faster than him, as indicated by the fact that I had passed him during the straight shot of running along the road. When this happened I deliberately slowed down enough to where I was running alongside the wolf. Even if I had beat him back to the school, all that would do is have me waiting there for him to catch up. Since it was "his" life we were witnessing, it made little sense to skip ahead in the story when the story couldn't continue without him.

We continue uphill along the straight shot for about five minutes, passing by a golf course and the main gate entrance to the military base along the way. Once we passed the main gate, the road took us through a tiny plaza area. After that, the road gave you two options, continue straight and enter the military base via another gate entrance, or turn right into the Douglas School District, which if you followed the road all the way around (the road looped around the district and then opened up at the other side of the bottom of the hill where we witnessed my younger self hunting), brought you by the elementary school, the middle school, the preschool, and the high school respectively. Since he was running late, my younger self decided to run behind the back of the plaza buildings to our right and cut straight through the tall grass. Though it was an effective shortcut, I remember how I would initially avoid it whenever possible. This was because this particular area of tall grass was left untamed and unused. Unlike the grass areas near the highway, that would occasionally be given the flash burning treatment by humans and acted as a grazing area for large game and occasionally livestock, this area of grass was left to grow as it pleased. Nobody mowed it, maintained it, or even considered buying the land in this small area. Because of this, the area soon became rattlesnake territory, making it the animal kingdom's equivalent of walking through a minefield. To make matters worse, my younger self was fifteen, and although I know for a fact that he possessed dark powers and several forms, I knew that he wasn't nearly as stong or experienced then as I currently was. Much to my surprise when I saw the young wolf out-maneuver the expected barrage of snake attacks as he ran. When we reached the edge of the snakes' territory, which ended right at the edge of the middle school campus, the wolf turned back at the snakes that hissed at him angrily from the safety of the tall grass. The irritated wolf's yellow eyes then turn green as he rattles his tail and hisses back at them before continuing to run again. As I ran Raven spoke again.

"So how did that happen?"

"How did what happen?"

"You said you became a lion after being haunted by a ghost. How'd you become a rattlesnake?"

"A freak accident that nobody anticipated."

"What happened?"

"Unlike humans, werewolves, due to them being venomous themselves, are resistant to snake venom. We usually tend to recover quickly from it, or just flat-out be immune to it. However, back when I lived here, I was apparently allergic to snake venom, so when I was bitten by a diamondback, my body healed the only way it knew how."

"You absorbed it?"

"In a sense, yes. As the Elemental of Darkness, I was born with the ability to adapt, so when my body couldn't handle its allergy, it mutated me into something that could." It was at this point that were slowed to a stop as the wolf trotted up the front door of the high school. "We're here." The wolf then Changes back to his human form. I teleported us in front of him so that I could get a better look at myself. I was about 70 inches tall, and though still overweight, thinner then I currently was. My facial hair was extremely thin, to a point where you had to be up close to see it, and I had forgotten how much scruffier my mini afro was back then to what it currently was. Again, I wasn't anything to double-take at back then, but I looked better at fifteen then I felt I did at my current twenty one.

My younger self uses the reflection of the glass doors as a mirror to look at himself as he pulls out an afro pick from the back pocket of his jeans. After combing his hair, which still looked scruffy in my opinion, he returns the pick to his pocket and walks through the door. Unable to follow him without physically opening the doors, which despite us being invisible he could see, I open another shadow portal and walk through it. I emerge from it, Raven still on my back, into the main lobby of the high school. My younger self was behind us, just walking away from the doors, as he walked up to join us. The lobby and the nearby hallways were all empty and quiet. The clock that hung from a nearby wall read 12:30 pm.

"Wait, the hunt, the school, the exposition, the run over here, all that took an hour", asked Raven as she was also looking at the clock.

"My thoughts exactly", I responded.

"Dammit", muttered my younger self to himself.

"Late again, Mr. Adams", said a man as he emerged from the front office towards our left. "And once again, you left campus without permission."

"Double dammit", my younger self muttered again.

"Swearing too? I do believe I will be seeing you later this afternoon, in detention."

"Ugh", groaned my younger self as he rolled his eyes and marched into the principal's office. Raven broke the silence again.

"You needed permission to leave the campus?"

"Only juniors and seniors were allowed to leave the campus for lunch. Since I was only a freshman, I often had to sneak off campus."

"All of that trouble, for a measly pizza?"

"Hey, what can I say? I was a dumb kid."

"Fair enough", said Raven with a giggle as she turned behind her and patted my lower back. I jumped slightly upon her doing so, as it was just barely away from my rear. Taking note at her gesture, I lower myself back to the ground to let her off. "Thanks for the lift", she says as she returns to her feet.

"You're welcome", I respond with a cheesy bow, which brings a smile to Raven's face as she bows back. While we waited in the lobby for my younger self, Raven, while exploring the lobby, happened across a display on the wall covered by glass. Inside were newspaper articles that had been cut out of their respective papers and pinned on the wall. They were all headlines that had pictures of or mentioned Box Elder's two Hero Wolves, one black, one blonde.

""Hero Wolves Foil Robbery". "She-Wolf to the Rescue". "Wolfman Extinguishes Wildfire"?", asked Raven as she read a few of the headlines.

"That wasn't easy either. Two and a half hours I will never get back", I said with a chuckle as I walked over to Raven. I Changed back to my human form and stood beside her as she spoke again.

"So we're not the first to call you "Wolfman"?"

"'Fraid not. Not many names to choose from. I also occasionally go by "Big Bad" if that seems easier."

"I'll keep that in mind", said Raven with a small grin on her face. "Which one is this", asked Raven as she pointed at the She-Wolf shown in one of the photographs.

"My little sister, Samantha."

"She's beautiful."

"Yes, I agree."

"But didn't you say there were a total of nine of you?"

"I did, but remember, we're in the past. Sammie was the first wolf to join my Pack back in 2007, and the Pack consisted of just the two of us for about three years before having recruited the others."

"I see. Is that her again", asked Raven pointing to a picture of me and a young girl. She was an even five feet tall, with long, blonde hair, and hazel eyes.

"That's her."

"She's cute, but I do have one question though", Raven began. I noticed something about her voice that made her sound hesitant.

"You're wondering why she's white and I'm black, aren't you?"

"I didn't mean to offend you."

"Not at all. It's quite alright, it's a natural question, and I know you well enough to know that no offense was implied. And to answer your question, I do not share blood with my sisters."

"Sis_ters_", asked Raven as she emphasized the plural of the word. "How many do you have?"

"Huh, come to think of it, I never really counted", I said as I chuckled for a moment.

"Why not give it a shot now", suggested Raven. I then went on to count off my sisters from oldest to youngest.

"Let me see here. There's April, Sandra, Alex, Jadzia, technically Megan, Katt, Sam L., Sam R., Alyssa, Sam K., Dax, Amanda, Krystie, Sam B., and Kalynn. So that's…. fifteen."

"Whoa. That's quite a few."

"I've also got three cousins, five brothers, two nephews, and a niece."

"I bet family reunions are a blast."

"Hahaha. Maybe one day."

"How did you happen upon that many siblings?"

"Well like many high schoolers, when you meet a group of people that become your best friends, they are instantly looked at as family and many times they will refer to each other as such. What separates my adopted family from most others is that we are all military children. The majority of us also happen to be mutants as well."

"I guess that helps."

"A bit, but they were lovely people before their mutation anyhow."

"Before?"

"Yeah. Out of all of my extended family members that are mutants, only two of my older brothers, my younger brother, one of my cousins, and my nephews were born as mutants. The rest of them all had it forced onto them."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's quite alright. They've all accepted their new gifts and all have turned into respectable mutants. But part of what made them family to me was their training."

"You trained them?"

"Every single one, just as I did with my Patriot Pack. And just like with my Patriot Pack, I began training them with the sole purpose of preventing them of hurting others or themselves. My only concern was my friends' safety, but despite that, long after their training was over, they all called me "Alpha", and have looked at me as a brother ever since."

"That's…. actually really cool." I then look to Raven and make eye contact with her. She opened her mouth as if to say something more, when a large explosion-like sound rang through the walls of the building. The explosion was far from the building, but close and powerful enough to shake the building as if we were experiencing a small earthquake. I instinctively embrace Raven as the very ground beneath us begins to tremble. I could hear teachers and students in the nearby classrooms beginning to panic a little as there was no way to play this off as anything natural. Raven, who upon my embracing her had her head rested against my chest, looks up at me and pauses for a moment as we make eye contact in awkward silence again. She then blushes as she asks, "what's going on?" It was at that moment that I was reminded of the conclusion that I had back at the bus lot.

"Wait for it", I said anticipating what was going to happen next. It was then that, as I had expected, Sammie howled from somewhere else in the building. Upon hearing my sister's cry, my younger self races out of the principal's office. He then cups his hands over his mouth and howls back. He then Changes into his wolf form and sprints down the hall, further into the school. "That's our cue", I said as I also Changed into my wolf form and sprinted after myself, with Raven flying by my side. We rounded the corner leading to the hallway to find myself running up to Sammie, also in her wolf form. The two young wolves converse with each other for a brief moment, and then look up towards the ceiling. The ceiling consisted of those tile things you tended to see in public schools that pushed into the ceiling whenever something pressed against the tile. Above the tiles the ceiling tended to be a series of little tunnels and air ducts that connected throughout the building, making it a perfect series of shortcuts for a couple of teenage werewolves. The two wolves were focussed on a particular tile specifically, one that led to a hatch towards the roof of the building. My younger self then kneels to one knee and extends his arms out towards his sister with his fingers locked together. Sammie then rises to her hind legs and steps on his hands with one of her paws. With the help of my younger self, she then jumps straight up and through the ceiling, pushing away the tile in the process. With Sammie already in the ceiling, and the tile moved out of the way, my younger self returns to all fours and leaps up through the ceiling after her, pausing for a moment to return the tile to its original position. In response to this, I embrace Raven again and teleported us to the roof, just before the two wolves made it there. _Dammit! I did it again_, I thought to myself as I awkwardly tried to play off the fact that I man-handled Raven again.

The two wolves emerged onto the roof through the large metal "air chute" that sat at the edge of the roof. It was then that another barrage of explosions occurred, shaking the high school once again. The wolves then run towards the side of the roof that faces behind the school, towards the preschool. Raven and I do the same. In the distance, beyond the preschool and towards the middle school, clouds of dust and smoke lifted into the air following the barrage of explosions. Through one of the clouds was what appeared to be a girl. She was floating and looking down at the middle school. She then screamed as she threw what looked like a light purple starbolt below her. The starbolt collided with the earth below, causing another loud explosion and another cloud of dust. The girl then flies back down like a dart and the explosions continue.

"Blackfire", said both of me with growls rumbling in our chests


	15. Douglas Grudge Match

The both of us, as if we were both aware of the other, in synced timing leap from the roof. Once we hit the ground, we then immediately began to high-tail it to the middle school with Sammie and Raven right behind us, passing by a panicky preschool on the way. We arrived at the parking lot of the middle school to see Blackfire, a Tamaranian with long, black hair who I would later discover is the older sister of Starfire. She was fighting my younger brother, Ximenez, and he was losing, badly. At only thirteen years old at the time, and therefore too young to Change, all he had to fight with was the physical strength of his human form. Normally that wouldn't be too much of a problem, due to him still having enhanced strength, speed, and stamina due to his lycanthropy, but Blackfire, much like her younger sister, was equipped with super alien strength, star bolts, flight, and probably other abilities I wasn't aware of.

He was locked in hand-to-hand combat with her as the teachers and students of Douglas Middle School escaped in a panic out the back of the school. She eventually delivered a swift kick into his chest, sending him flying backwards into the school wall. Dust encircled him as broken bricks flew off of the wall due to his impact. When the dust cleared, my brother fell to the ground onto his hands and knees. His shirt was shredded to ribbons as it hung loosely from his body, and his jean shorts had tears along the sides of the thighs as if he was the Hulk after turning back into Bruce Banner. His skin was covered in cuts and bruises, his right eye was blackened, and his mini afro was covered in dust. If it weren't for the fact that he was indeed a werewolf, Blackfire would've most definitely killed him long before getting to that point. Blackfire then prepares to fire another star bolt at him when my younger self springs into action. With a roar, he opens his jaws and begins charging his dark energies for a "Shadow Ball" attack as if he were a Mightyena. He then releases it from his jaws with perfect timing as it collides with Blackfire's star bolt in midair before it reaches Ximenez. Irritated that someone interfered with her attack, she turns to her left towards my younger self, who responded to her glare with a snarl.

"So you were the one I needed all along", said Blackfire with an evil grin.

"You want me? Come and get me", my younger self responded, paying no actual attention to her comment. Blackfire accepts my challenge by firing another star bolt. He dodges the blast and charges into a full sprint at Blackfire. He lunges at her as hard as he could with his claws tracted and sharpened for attack. With a smug grin on her face, Blackfire simply leans backwards slightly to where it's just enough for him to just miss her. However, as he passes her face, he swings his right back paw out and lands a lucky kick against the side of her face. The young wolf then turns back at her upon landing to see her picking herself up off the ground. She looks up at him and glares as her eyes burn light purple. She didn't appreciate his counterattack. She then screams in anger as she shoots off the ground and barrels into the wolf's back, pushing him face-first into another of the school's walls. After the collision and the dust had cleared, she pins his face into the bricks with one hand while twisting his arm behind him with the other.

"Looks like I win", she said confidently. It was at this point that Sammie rushed at her from behind. When she approached her, she rose to her hind legs for a moment and sank the claws of her right paw into the right side of Blackfire's collar bone. The rogue alien screams in pain as she's then jerked backwards enough to where Sammie could then use her left paw to pull Blackfire's head to its left side, which then exposed her neck, allowing Sammie to sink her fangs into it. When her grip was loose enough, my younger self jerks his left elbow backwards, slamming it square into Blackfire's nose. The blow to her face was enough to push her back away from him, allowing him to leap straight into the air and land behind her and Sammie, still with Blackfire's neck in her jaws. Once I was out of the way, Sammie then uses her jaws to toss the alien girl behind her and towards her brother. The black wolf then leans backwards as if he was imitating choreography from the "Matrix" series as Blackfire is thrown over him. As she passes he then does a backflip and kicks the back of her spine, which combined with the force of Sammie's toss, sends her flying into a truck that was parked in the parking lot prior to the fight. A large dent appears on the passenger side's doors as she crashes into the vehicle, setting off its emergency alarm in the process. Blackfire then falls to the ground.

As she lay still with her face in the concrete, the two wolves slowly close in on her, growling as if to warn her not to get up. A few moments later the alien slowly rises to her feet, her face covered by her hair as she hung her head. To add to this creepy zombie vibe she was giving off, she begins to chuckle in an "evil" fashion. She then lifts her head and reveals her face. Not a single scratch on her face. There were tears in her clothes due to Sammie's claws and fangs, but her face, and skin in general, had no evidence of any damage of any kind. A look of shock and a bit of worry washes over the two wolves' faces.

"What can I say? My people are more resilient", says the alien girl preparing to fight back. Her two hands begin to glow as she prepared to blast another round of star bolts, but something was different this time. Her blasts were originating from the two jewels on her gloves (much like the gloves Starfire wore, they revealed her hands, but stretched up to her elbows as if they were sleeves. The two jewels on her gloves were located on the backs of her hands). As her eyes glowed light purple as per usual, her left hand began to glow white, and her right began to "glow" black. She then fired a black star bolt at Sammie, sending her flying backwards a few feet.

"Sammie", cried the black wolf as he looked back at the unconscious blonde wolf.

"She's fine, but I'd be more concerned about myself if I were you." Blackfire then fired a blast of white energy from her left hand at the unconscious wolf. My younger self stood there frozen, not sure what to do next or what was going on. "Now rise", said the alien as she motioned her right hand upward as if she were controlling a string puppet. Sammie then rises onto her four paws with her back turned to my younger self. The black wolf cautiously approaches his sister just as Blackfire says, "turn and face your opponent." Sammie then turns to her brother and snarls an angry snarl, much to the black wolf's surprise. The black wolf then turns back at the alien and begins to growl.

"What did you do to her?"

"Attack", says the alien as she points at him, completely ignoring his question. The blonde wolf immediately obeys her command as she lunges at the black wolf. She tackles him as the two of them roll over each other wrestling to try to pin the other to the ground, while Blackfire cackled in delight. Unfortunately, Sammie was the victor as she pinned my younger self onto his back with her on top. "Finish him", shouts Blackfire as if she was the announcer in a game of "Mortal Kombat". In response to her mistress' command, Sammie clamps her jaws onto the black wolf's throat. As blood began to leak from his throat, my younger self lay there unsure of what to do next, though his paws desperately tried to free his throat from his sister. He knew not how to free his sister without hurting her, but she was trying to kill him regardless.

"Ximenez", cries my younger self as he looks over to his brother for help. The even younger boy simply looks at his dying brother and stares. He then turns towards the side of the building leading to behind the school and runs. "Ximenez", I cry again as my brother kept running, without any intention of stopping. His cowardly attempt to escape came to a halt, but only due to Blackfire's interference.

"And where do you think you are going?" Blackfire then hits my brother with another black star bolt. The young preteen werewolf screams in pain as he is thrown onto his stomach due to the blast.

"No", I shout as I kick Sammie in her groin. The blonde wolf yelps and then whines in response. With her grip on my throat loosened, I manage to throw her off of me and run to my brother.

"That was a dick move", said Raven who stood beside me on the sidelines as we watched.

"Hey, desperate times", I said in response, but with a serious voice.

"Ximenez", my younger self screamed as he trotted over to his unconscious brother.

"Now rise", repeated Blackfire. Just as Sammie did before, Ximenez immediately rises to his feet in response to her command. Blackfire then fires a white star bolt at my brother, forcing an unexpected side effect. My brother began to Change. As the Changing process began to occur, he immediately dropped to the ground and screamed bloody murder as he writhed in pain. Since his body had not yet matured enough, the Change was forced and unnatural, and it was killing him. With no further commands from her mistress, Sammie lowered her rear to the ground as if she was a dog that had been told to sit. I stare down at my brother in horror as I dared not touch him or use my dark powers to try and stop the Change for fear of killing him faster. I could feel my stomach being tied in knots as I saw Ximenez, who at that point was about halfway through the Change, gargling and choking on his own blood. Scared and angry, I turn back to Blackfire and roar at her. "Don't get your tail in a knot. I still need him." She then fires several more white star bolts at my brother, which helped him speed through the rest of the Change. At last the Change was complete, and my brother stood before me as a young werewolf with dark brown fur and light purple eyes, the same color as Blackfire's aura-like powers.

"Shit just got real", my current self said as I watched my younger self get double teamed by his two younger siblings. It was at that moment something strange occurred. The world of my "memory" started to accelerate slightly. My younger self, my siblings, the fight, Blackfire, the surrounding environment, everything began moving quicker as if we were inside a VHS tape and somebody hit the "fast forward" button. Raven and I look at each other and shake our heads almost simultaneously as if we were silently asking if the other had anything to do with the world accelerating, while at the same time saying, "it wasn't me". We look back at the fight to see, though still accelerated, that it was now me versus my two siblings, and now Blackfire as she decided to join in the fight.

"Any chance you're catching what's going on", asked Raven as she couldn't truly keep up with the fast moving people as they sped around the parking lot blasting, barking, biting, and clawing at one another.

"I am. In a few seconds I'm going to Change into somebody you might recognize", I said as I pointed my claw at the battle. Moments later, my younger self Changed into his beast form.

"Wait, the Beast was real", asked Raven in reference to why my beast form resembled the Beast from the respective Disney Princess movie.

"No, that's just one of my forms. A story for another time." Raven then turned to me as if she was going to say something, but I cut her off as I continued narrating my past. "Now here comes Christian", I said as I pointed out at the grassy plains across the street from the middle school. Raven turned just in time to see another pitch-black werewolf rush in and join the fight. Though it was hard to tell through the accelerated chaos, I explained that Christian was fighting on my side. I look around me and Raven's observation point and notice that the battlefield was starting to spread wider. "Come", I said simply as I Changed into Gizamon and flew into the air. Raven followed me without question, probably being used to me giving her vague information at that point. We fly across the street and hover over the edge of the grasslands that Christian appeared from and continue to watch.

With the battle now consisting of three werewolves, and both a rogue alien and a large monstrous animal firing star bolts and dark energy at one another, there were explosions, flying debris, and property damage everywhere you looked. Eventually the battle resulted in the middle school catching on fire, and without anyone paying any actual attention to it, the fire eventually finds a way to spread to the grassy lawn of the middle school, and then to the trees that sat in between the middle school and preschool. With the threat of a fire in addition to five super beings leveling the middle school in a five-way grudge match, the preschool begins to evacuate the children through the far exits of the building in an effort to avoid the fighting as much as possible. It was then that there was a flash of a white light. When the flash had passed, the world below had returned to normal speed, but the fight had progressed further without us seeing it, as if the flash was a transition tool as if we were watching a random cartoon show.

"Does your life always have to have elements of television and movies in everything you do", asked Raven sarcastically.

"Apparently", I respond for being just as confused as she was.

The fight below had started to die down a bit as everyone was beginning to tire out. My younger self had returned to his wolf form by this point. Blackfire, now finally being tired herself, fires another star bolt at me. My younger self dodges as he continues to charge at her. Both Ximenez and Sammie lunge at me from head-on, as if to protect their mistress, but Christian made quick work of them as he quickly tackles them out of my way. Blackfire, now unprotected, fires a barrage of star bolts at me, trying to ward me away. Unfortunately for her, my younger self escaped her assault untouched thanks to his ability to teleport. He eventually teleports himself close enough to Blackfire that he bit his jaws down onto her left hand. The alien screams in pain as she begins to pummel the wolf's neck with her free fist hoping to loosen his grip.

"Let…. me…. go", she screams as she delivers a kick to his chest from underneath him. The wolf is then flown off of her as her glove is ripped in the process. Blackfire and my younger self are thrown through the air away from each other as one of Blackfire's jewels, the one ripped from her glove, disappears into the rubble of the middle school. My younger self slowly rises to his paws to see an even angrier Blackfire, her entire body encased in her light purple aura, preparing to strike him. "You're going to wish you'd never done that", she screams as she draws back her right arm as if winding up her star bolt like a pitcher winds up for a fast ball. Suddenly a large blast of wind crashes into her from behind the black wolf and throws her backwards. Blackfire then becomes unconscious as she crashes into the ground on her stomach. My younger self turns behind him to see Sammie closing her jaws having completed her "wind" attack. She then rushes over to her brother and begins to lick the dirt and blood from his throat, whining apologetically as she did so.

"What was that she just did", asked Raven in reference to my sister's attack. I then opened my jaws and exhaled as hard as I could, to the point where you could see the wind shooting from my jaws with incredible force. Once I had completed my demonstration, I look back at Raven, who had a look of confusion on her face.

"It's just a trick I taught my Pack."

"So, are brick houses your kryptonite, are is that just a myth from the fairy tale."

"Hardy har har. Make jokes if you want, but it's a useful trick to have. Besides, where do you think the inspiration of the Big Bad Wolf came from?"

"The Big Bad Wolf was real?"

"Though the fairy tales are pure fiction, the wolf that inspired those stories, is very much real."

"Is", asked Raven. I ignored her question as I motioned towards everyone below us. My younger self and Sammie had just walked over to Christian and Ximenez.

"Is everybody okay", I asked.

"You're welcome, by the way", said Christian smugly.

"I'll take that as a "yes"", I responded sarcastically. "And you", I asked my brother. He simply nodded his head, but kept his eyes looking at the ground. My ears then twitched as I heard Blackfire groaning behind me, struggling to regain consciousness and rise to her feet. While I was already looking in her direction, I noticed that the fire started from the battle had spread to the preschool, which was still being evacuated.

"Go help them. Get them out of here", I said as I turned back to the other three wolves. Without question, Sammie ran towards the preschool. "Evacuate the high school as well", I shouted to her as she ran off. I turned back to the other two to find my brother starting to walk away. "Ximenez", I asked trying to figure out where he was going. When he heard me say his name he looks back at me for a moment, then hauls into a sprint, away from the school district. "Ximenez!"

"Ah, we don't need that wuss weighing us down anyway. Now let's behead this royal bitch!"

"You should really go help Sammie evacuate everyone."

"Hmmmm. How about, no", he asked sarcastically as he began walking around me and towards Blackfire.

"Christian….", I growled at him.

"Save your breath. I'm only here to claim another victory in battle. When it comes to saving these worthless humans, you're on your own."

"There's more to being a werewolf than simply fighting."

"That's your opinion."

"No, it's fact. Just because you're a mutant, doesn't mean you're any superior to the humans."

"In what way are we not superior?"

"Nobody is superior to anybody!"

"Says the wolf who your precious Sammie calls, "Alpha"."

"I never asked to be called, "Alpha"."

"Well I never asked to be a creature whose strength knows no equal. Looks like we both got what we deserved."

"Sometimes I feel you don't even deserve your powers."

"Oooooh, is that a challenge?"

"I have no desire to fight you."

"Aw, whats the matter, Fernando? I didn't scare you already did I?"

"I'm not scared of you."

"Perhaps not of me, but you are of Bigby." My younger self's ears lowered slightly upon hearing his name. I, myself, did as well. "Aha! I knew it! The mighty "Prince of Darkness" is scared of someone. How does it feel to be knocked to the levels of us commoners?" My younger self simply snorts in response as he walks up to Christian. Christian then turns to face him as they both looked each other in the eye, only inches away from each other. Christian then begins to flash his fangs as a growl rumbled in his chest. My younger self stands there silent for a moment, and then proceeds to walk around Christian towards the disoriented alien behind him. "Huh. Ferdinand the Werewolf, off to sit quietly and smell the flowers. That's always been your problem, always so quick to run from a fight. No wonder Bigby kicked you out."

"He didn't kick me out", I began as I looked back at him. "I left willingly."

"Perhaps it's better that you did. You know, after starting a mutiny and all."

"Rey and Maury left on their own terms. That wasn't my doing."

"Well they certainly wouldn't have left if you had just kept your head down and did what you were told to do."

"Well excuse me for refusing to be a part of your little gang."

"Humans have gangs. We have Packs."

"Yet what Bigby has is clearly a gang."

"So we terrorize a few humans from time to time. Big deal, it's what we do. It's in our blood."

"That's where you're wrong. It's not. I left the Pack not because I couldn't follow orders, but because I refused to be a monster. It's difficult enough coexisting with humans as it is, and I refuse to contribute to the problem. You want to be a mindless drone for a glorified bully, that's fine, but leave me out of it." Christian snarled at my younger self in response to his comment. "You do whatever you want", I said as I turned back and walked back over to Blackfire.

"With pleasure", Christian growled under his breath as he crept over towards me, my back still turned to him. I could hear Raven breathing faster as she and I watched in suspense.

"Relax", I said as I pointed at my ears as if to indicate to listen. It was at that moment that the echoing sounds of sirens could be heard. Upon hearing the promise of police officers arriving, Christian then turns back towards the grasslands he entered the fight from and begins to run towards them. From the safety of the tall grass, Raven and I heard him growl something to himself under his breath again.

"The next time you cross paths with me, old friend, will be your last." Christian then turns and disappears further into the plains.

"How right you are", I said as I turned back at my younger self, now standing over Blackfire. He nudged and proded at her with his paws and nose as four police cars and a fire truck pull up to the edges of the middle school and preschool parking lots. The police officers all immediately move to their positions, that is, they all stepped out of their vehicles, drew their guns, pointed them at my younger self, all with the exception of the one officer with the megaphone that yelled, "freeze! Power down and put your hands in the air!" Before the young wolf could even think to respond, Blackfire's eyes shoot open as she immediately rolls onto her back. She then does something completely unexpected. "Hey Raven. Remember that dick move I did earlier?"

"Yeah".

"If you liked that, then you'll love this", I said sarcastically in reference of what was about to happen.

"Lover, please. Why do you do this to me? Have I not done for you everything you've asked of me and more? Why do you attack me? Why do you destroy a harmless school? Those poor, poor people…. why do you do such a thing", asked Blackfire in a fake and very squealy and whiny voice as she pretended to play the victim.

"Say what", asks the shocked werewolf that stood over her. After hearing all that they needed to hear, the cops began to open fire at the accused werewolf. My younger self instinctively surrounds both himself and Blackfire with a protective forcefield made of his dark aura as bullets bounce right off of it.

"Whoa. Yeah, that was a dick move, too", said Raven.

"Oh, trust me, it gets worse. There's one last piece to this story", I said in response as I lifted my index claw up to the sky. It was then that, out of seemingly nowhere, a flash of green appears in the sky as what appeared to be a green comet came barreling down towards the earth below. The comet crashed into the middle of my forcefield and the cops' gunfire, causing another small explosion. The blast was enough to send all five emergency vehicles flying backwards and shatter my forcefield. My younger self, Blackfire, and the police officers all screamed in shock as we were all tossed backwards like rag dolls. When the dust cleared and the green glow had died down a bit, another alien girl emerged, the one who I would later meet as a Teen Titan, Starfire.

"You must be Starfire", said my younger self as he approached her. Starfire responded by shouting something in Tamaranean as she pointed her palms at him. "Easy, Princess Starfire, my name is Fernando, and I mean you no harm." Blackfire responds to this by calling out to Starfire in Tamaranean, causing Starfire to respond back to her similarly. I didn't know what they said to one another, but I could guess that it was based on lies, because without having any idea on how to speak or understand Tamaranean, Blackfire had the clear advantage, so it didn't at all surprise me when Starfire then decided to attack me. With my younger self already being worn out from fighting one Tamaranean, he was in no position to fight another. Starfire lunges at the young wolf and punches him in the abdomen. Having the air knocked out of him was more than enough to stun him, giving Starfire the perfect opportunity to grab him by the throat, fly him up a few dozen feet into the air, and hurl him into the high school, further away from the where the gunfire had just taken place. The amount of force in her throw was not only enough to crash me through one of the building's brick walls, but it also brought a small portion of the school building itself to the ground. To make matters worse, the high school was not yet completely evacuated, so we would later discover that several people were fatally wounded by the collapsing building.

"Well I guess that's it", I said expecting the white light to appear and bring us back to Titans Tower. Much to my surprise when Blackfire and Starfire flew over to the rubble of the high school, and the "memory" continued. "That's odd."

"What's odd?"

"If this is a world of my memories, then we shouldn't still be here. Starfire just knocked me unconscious", I said as I pointed to the pile of bricks I was buried under.

"Hold that thought", said Raven as she flies over to the high school. This time I followed her. We land in the parking lot next to the rubble. Teachers and students were still fleeing the area in panic. The two alien sisters began conversing with one another as they approached my unconscious body. Though neither I or Starfire could understand what was being said, their facial expressions and tones of voice told us enough. Blackfire was continuing to play victim, while her little sister hung onto every word and tried her best to comfort her. When they reached the pile of bricks, they began moving the bricks as they attempted to dig me out. When they finally found me, I had returned to my human form due to the crash, Starfire grabs me by the front of my shirt and pulls me up to her. She then proceeds to holler at and shake me as I dangled from her grip, unconscious and still. Blackfire then looks up at the roof and gasps. Starfire drops my younger self and looks up to match where her sister was looking.

Up on the roof of the high school were two more mutants. One was big and covered in black fur. He had claws on his hands and feet, but they weren't completely Changed into paws. They looked moreso like claws had just sprouted from where his human fingernails once were, though his big toes on his feet, which are the foot's equivalent of thumbs, were raised further up as if his feet were Changed into paws. He had a snout, but it wasn't defined as it was simply a wolf-like nose sitting in the exact same place a human one would be, and he had mane-like fur around his face, chin, and neck. His eyes were a light lime green, his canine teeth were sharpened, and the clothes he wore over his fur were in shreds. This mutant was a werewolf, whose breed had been simply named, due to their appearance being both gender specific and the inspiration of one of the world's most well-known monster stories, wolfman.

The other mutant had the body, arms, legs, hands, and feet of a human man. He was dressed completely in black leather, with red hot rod flames on his pants and the back of his jacket. Humans wouldn't be able to tell him apart from any other human, except for his face. Though the rest of his body was in human form, he had the head of a jaguar, as indicated by the fact that the jaguar head snarled and roared, which made it easy to tell that it wasn't simply a man in a mask. Believe it or not, this mutant was also a werewolf. He and members of his breed are called nahuals, werewolves who when they Changed, only Changed their heads and grew claws on their hands and feet. What also makes them unique is that they and one other breed don't necessarily become wolves when they Changed. Since the origins of this breed date way back to the ancient Aztecs, nahuals (it depended on the individual) can become wolves, jaguars, leopards, coyotes, or bears. In the case of this particular nahual, he was a jaguar.

The two werewolves leapt down from the roof, causing the two aliens to back off from their unconscious young friend. They snarled a warning to the both of them as they both stood between their opponent's and my younger self who laid on the ground behind them. The aliens responded by radiating their powers over their bodies.

"Who're those two", asked Raven as the four super beings squared each other off.

"Old friends of mine. That's Rey, and Maury", I said as I pointed my claw at the nahual and wolfman respectively. The two muscular werewolves continued to growl and snarl as the two alien girls stood there waiting, eagerly expecting something to happen.

"Aren't they going to say something", asked Raven impatiently.

"If you're referring to the two big guys, I doubt it. In their wolf forms neither of them can speak. Hell, Rey in particular can't speak English at all." As if he knew we were talking about him, the jaguar-headed werewolf, as if on cue, steps forward and simply points behind the alien girls and snarls. It didn't matter that three out of the four individuals in this exchange couldn't speak English, the message was clear enough to where you'd have to be blind and/or deaf to miss it. Rey was clearly telling them to leave. Blackfire then steps forward and prepares to attack, but stumbles as she was still weakened from her fight with me. Starfire then catches her sister and politely restrains her from trying to fight anymore. Blackfire then looks up at Starfire with an annoyed look on her face as if she was about to say something, but is interrupted as the police officers, the two that managed to walk off Starfire's crash landing, fired a round of tranquilizer darts at the four super beings.

Though they fired multiple darts, they only managed to hit two of their targets, Starfire and Maury. Starfire had a few darts hit her in the back as she blocked her sister with her body, while Maury got shot similarly as he was using himself as a shield to protect both me and Rey. Blackfire and Rey take advantage of the situation as Blackfire escapes by flying away using her unconscious sister's body to literally shield herself, while Rey hurls a large chunk of what used to be a brick wall at the two officers. The two men scream as the force of the toss was enough to wound one of them further while killing the other (my ears twitched at the sound of one of their necks snapping the wrong way upon impact). With the cops down for the count and the aliens fleeing the scene, Rey then grabs the unconscious Maury and younger me, each scooped under one of his arms, and bounds up and over the school building as he makes his escape.

"Should we follow", asked Raven in reference to how the pacing of this trip down memory lane was going. I looked around at the unconscious police officers, the destroyed buildings and cars, and the fire that was slowly dying out only because it was running out of things to burn before I answered her.

"No, what happens from here on doesn't matter. Rey'll take care of it."

"In that case, what about the jewel?"

"Jewel?"

"The one that you ripped off of Blackfire's hand." In all of the craziness of the fight and the weird memory dream world I had forgotten about that. Before I could even wing a response, Raven then flies off back to the devastated middle school. Seeing as how we were both still hanging around despite my younger self being unconscious therefore technically ending this memory-like sequence, I flap my wings and fly after her.

Raven apparently was even more eager to find that jewel than I was as indicated by the fact that by the time I arrived to the middle school, she was already there moving large amounts of rock and brick with her dark powers, large enough to where I was thoroughly impressed. Granted she was using her powers and not physical strength, but just like physical strength, with telekinesis and other mental powers, you had to train your mind to handle lifting something large and heavy just as you would train your muscles to handle the weight of something heavy. Also, like physical muscles, if your mind is weary or overworked, its overall strength also becomes weary. So with all of that said, seeing Raven as she easily lifted large amounts of solid rock and brick and tossed it to the side without so much as even chanting her mantra to motivate or boost herself to do so was more than enough to impress me, or at least make me more attracted to her than I already was.

"Wow, you're much stronger than you look", I said as I trotted up to her.

"What's that supposed to mean", she asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked back at me. I then begin to panic a little as I just realized how I might've said something sexist or otherwise insulting rather than the intended compliment.

"Oh, well, what I meant to say was…. that is, you kinda look like…. not that that's a bad thing…. I mean most women…. no, that's not what I meant", I babbled like an idiot as if I had never held a conversation with another person before. My paws nervously pace from side to side as my dialogue was all over the place trying to form an intelligent thought. "This is all coming out wrong! Let me try that again….", I began as I somehow managed to trip over my own paws after apparently getting them tangled up due to my nervous pacing. I fall forward and land on my stomach with my neck and chin extended out. My two front legs were pressed underneath my body while my back legs were crisscrossed as if I were sitting Indian style. _I guess I'll just lie here and die in shame_, I thought to myself as I said, "ow", in as pathetic and sarcastic a voice as I could muster. Though I was too ashamed to look up at her, I could hear Raven laughing at my stupidity. I lowered my ears in response.

"That. Was. Priceless", said Raven as she squats down in front of me.

"If by "priceless" you mean "stupid"", I said, again, sarcastically.

"No, it was cute", she says as she lifts some of the fur of my mane that fluffed over my face as I fell out of my eyes. I then look back up at her and lock onto her eyes. I then get a familiar feeling of being unable to resist being drawn into her as I felt myself Change back into human form, lift myself onto my hands and knees, and move my face closer to hers as my eyelids once again started to feel heavy. I was close enough to where I could feel her breathing on my face when a heard the sound of rock being blasted. My eyes shoot open enough just in time to see a blast of Raven's dark energy strike the rocky pile of rubble, just as our powers did to the roof of Titans Tower on the day we met. Raven and I awkwardly pull away from each other as we notice the shine of something white coming from the spot where the rock was blasted. We walk over and look down to see that we had found the jewel that Blackfire left behind. I reach out and grab it as the two of us squat back down for a better look at it. The jewel was white and in the shape of a pentagon. It also had black lines running through it that evenly divided the jewel into five equal "panels".

"Interesting", I said as I turned the jewel in my hand to see the other side of it.

"What happened to the jewel after they left?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean as I said. I don't know what happened to the jewel. It wasn't until we were transported here via some weird memory wormhole that I even knew that Blackfire left a jewel behind. I was so angry at Blackfire at the time I guess I simply forgot. Plus, in my defense, it was the least of my problems at the time", I said as I rose to my feet and looked around at the devastation of the Douglas School District.

"The roof still looks pretty sturdy", said Raven behind me as I turned back to see her rise to her feet. I cock my head a little confused at what the purpose of her bringing up that fact was. She then responds by floating up towards the roof. I walk further out of the building and turn back around to get a better view of her on the roof. She walked over to one edge of it and sat down with her legs hanging off, just as she was that night we spent together. She looks down at me and then pats the ground beside her with her hand. Having clearly understood the message, I teleport from the parking lot and onto the roof beside her. Raven jumps a little at the quick and sudden movement of my maneuver. Upon seeing her do this, I chuckle a little, and she does as well. That moment of laughter didn't last long however, because the view from the roof only gave me a better look at the damage. I look out over the district in silence, playing with and moving the jewel around in my hand. Through the corners of my eyes, I could see Raven looking at me with a look as if to say, "are you okay?".

"Now you see?"

"See what?"

"The origins of my feud with Starfire. Half of it anyway."

"Any chance you know what any of that was about?"

"Unfortunately I still find myself with very few answers. The only new source of information I have is this jewel, which managed to slip my mind for all these years. I may possess it for the moment, but you and I don't truly exist in this memory. As for where the jewel is now, I have no idea."

"Well, maybe I can help."

"Oh really", I ask sarcastically, but playfully.

"Really", she responds with a raised eyebrow.

"And how pre-tell do you plan to accomplish this?"

"Well, we can just talk. Maybe we will stumble across something." It wasn't much of a plan, but I had to admit, I liked the idea. After reliving one of the most intense memories of my life, being confused and conflicted about the Tamaranean sisters, plus the countless other issues and problems I was facing in "the real world", just taking another minute to just relax and talk sounded nice. Besides, I probably needed to vent a little. Not only that, I was with Raven, and it didn't appear that we were going home anytime soon.

"That actually sounds nice", I said in response.

"Mind if I ask a few questions?" I chuckled a moment before responding.

"You know, you probably have more questions than I do."

"Is that a "no"?" I simply shake my head and motion my hand towards her as if to say, "go on ahead". Raven then began with her questions. "That boy from earlier, the brown wolf. He's your brother, isn't he?" It was then that I could myself holding back a growl at the mention of my younger brother. For the sake of not taking out my frustration on Raven for my issues with my brother, I take a deep breath before answering her

"Ximenez Adams is his name. And yes, he's my brother, the only sibling I have by blood."

"No offense, but he kinda looks like you." The wording of her sentence was kinda weird, but I could tell she was trying not to upset me with the fact that my brother and I looked alike. With the age difference between me and my brother only being a little over a year, growing up, most people couldn't tell us apart, which was really quite annoying, especially since we weren't twins. It also didn't help that he shared the same hairstyle as me until high school, and that Mom dressed us in the exact same outfits until I was twelve.

"No, it's okay. It's pointless for me to try to deny it. He and I have always looked alike, especially when we were kids." It was then that I remembered something that Blackfire had said. _So you were the one I needed all along_, I repeated to myself remembering Blackfire's words. Raven then interrupts my thoughts to interject, as if she could read my thoughts.

"Blackfire said something about "needing" you."

"Yes, you're right. Not sure how I missed that little detail. Then again I was thrown through a wall soon after that." Raven chuckles a little, despite it being a weak joke. I was appreciating her efforts none-the-less. "Actually, if she needed me but instead found Ximenez, I can understand why."

"Why is that?"

"Though I didn't find out about it until after Blackfire's rampage, my brother had apparently been passing himself off as me to her."

"Well that doesn't make any sense. How did nobody notice that he tried to switch your names?"

"Let me rephrase. He tried passing himself off as the Prince of Darkness. He took advantage of the fact that people were always mistaking one of us for the other, so he justified his lie by saying that the Prince of Darkness was named Ximenez and not Fernando. I guess Blackfire found out the truth and simply didn't take it well."

"But what was the point? Why did he try to pretend to be an Elemental?"

"Perhaps I should tell you the whole story from the beginning." I then went on to tell her about how Blackfire first appeared in Box Elder. It was December 31st, 2008, when the afternoon sky lit up with a light purple light, and what appeared to be a shooting star shot across the sky. It crash-landed somewhere in the forest on Radar Hill, but no meteorite or anything of that sort was ever found. Later that day, my brother apparently ran into Blackfire at a New Year's Eve party (it was interesting that my parents allowed him to go to a party on his own at the age of thirteen, but me being almost fifteen at the time was stuck at the house watching the ball drop in my room). Not sure how they got to that point, but somehow they wound up sharing a kiss at midnight, and my brother came home that night claiming he had his first girlfriend. From then, up until the day she attacked the school, Blackfire dated my brother, though my brother did everything he could to keep his relationship with her a secret. Hell, I only found out about her to begin with because the night he came home I read his mind.

Much like my relationship with my mother, my brother and I were never very close, which was fortunate for him, seeing as how he managed to pretend to be me for about three months without me finding out about it. Now of course I ran into him and Blackfire more than once, and he sarcastically introduced me to her the first time, but because I could care less about the girls he dated, I never took interest in the relationship to find out more. Besides, in my defense, it was also around that same time that I was dealing with Bigby and the Pack he dragged me into. With all of that said, because I never exchanged any meaningful dialogue with Blackfire, she never witnessed any of my shadow powers, nor did she receive any information or hints to imply that I had them, giving my brother the perfect window of opportunity to trick and manipulate Blackfire.

"So what I'm hearing is, your brother led a girl on to believe that he was somebody that he wasn't for three months."

"That's correct."

"Um, no offense, but he's…."

"A dick. You can say it. I won't get mad at you. His little stunt resulted in the first of many of his crazy ex-girlfriends. Then again, I'd be pretty angry, too if somebody tricked me for that long."

"That may be true, but you're forgetting two things. One is the jewel. The other is Blackfire. I don't think it's merely a coincidence that Ximenez pretended to be an Elemental to impress the same girl who apparently was looking for the same Elemental in the first place." I then look back down at the jewel in my hand.

"Well it's pretty clear what the other one does. Seems to be used for mind control", I said remembering how Sammie and Xavier both became Blackfire's attack dogs after being blasted by the black jewel.

"What about the one in your hand?"

"If I had to guess, I think it's some sort of power boost. When Blackfire used it on Samantha, her attacks seemed more vicious and overwhelming. Then again, I'm not sure what happened with my brother. He was forced into becoming a wolf earlier than his own body would allow."

"Perhaps it's possible that the jewels only work on your kind. Werewolves, I mean", said Raven somewhat defensively as if she felt I was going to comment on her sentence that would be considered questionably racist if it were ever taken out of context. To be fair, I had just finished making a sexist comment earlier so it didn't bother me. Besides, I knew she was better than that anyway.

"Does such a thing like that even exist?"

"You tell me. You're the werewolf here."

_Predators_, I thought to myself as I remembered the two times Germany had visitors from other planets, which wasn't that much longer after Blackfire visited South Dakota.

"Are there any pieces you're leaving out or forgetting", asked Raven as if she knew I was going over the pieces in my head, and she was right. Right after she and her sister attacked, there were reports throughout the state of South Dakota of three police departments getting blown to bits, killing several officers and nearby civilians in the process. No evidence or witness reports were ever reported or recorded. I didn't realize it then, but now I had my suspicions about what really happened. The pieces were starting to fall into place, but I needed to research and find out more about the events that followed Blackfire's visit.

"I think I'm starting to…." I began as I turned to speak to Raven. It was then that the jewel in my hand began to glow, much brighter and stronger this time. The white light slowly began to envelop us as it got stronger, giving me the most annoying feeling of deja vu. "*Sigh, nevermind", I said in frustration just as the light completely engulfed us, causing me to black out yet again. I then woke up to the sensation of dropping and landing on my rear. "Okay, that hurt", I say to myself as I adjust my eyes and look around. I was back on the roof of Titans Tower sitting Indian-style just as I was before that whole memory world bullshit happened. I turn to look behind me at my tail to see that it was flinching, like when you balance your leg by the ball of your foot and the muscle begins to shake after tiring out. _Oh yeah, I forgot about that_, I think to myself as I remembered that I was trying to show off by balancing by my tail. I pulled out my communicator that hung from my jeans and checked the clock on it. It was 8:30 am. "Damn, all that happened in….", I began as I looked up at Raven, surprised that she was still meditating. Her eyes were still closed, she continued to levitate, and she continued to chant her mantra, Azarath Metrion Zinthos, as if nothing happened over the past 2+ hours. Before I could get too far into thought about it, the door from the stairway was kicked open, scaring the dog shit out of me.

"Boo-yah", screamed Cyborg as he kicks open the door. The sudden break in silence apparently scared me enough to where, without even thinking, I instinctively rowl like an alley cat that just had its tail stepped on as I jump to Raven's side, Changing into Lobomon in the process, and began hissing at the source of the noise before even knowing who or what caused it. My spazzing, also being sudden and loud, also startled Raven as she yells in shock before falling on her rear having lost concentration of her meditating. Beast Boy, who was with Cyborg, was the first to speak.

"Uh dude, since when were you part cat?" Upon hearing him say that I did a quick look-over of myself. Though I was in wolf form, I had automatically assumed the defensive battle stance of a cat, as indicated not only by the fact that I was hissing, but also because my back was arched, my tail was erect, one of my front paws was held up with its claws tract as if I was preparing to claw at the air, and every single strand of fur along my back and tail stood up enough to where everyone could see it. I look over at Raven, who was to my left, as she sat up and looked at me as if she was just as surprised as the others were.

_You don't remember_, I asked in my head as I had just told Raven that I was part cat. Embarrassed and not knowing what to say next, I lower my rear to the ground to sit. Beast Boy then snaps his fingers to indicate he suddenly had an idea as he then runs up to me on my right side.

"Hey, guys! Check it out. Cat-Dog", chuckles Beast Boy as he wraps his left arm around my neck and motions towards me with his right hand. I respond to his bad pun by Changing into my lion form and roaring at him. For comedic effect, he morphs into a rooster yet again, immediately causing Raven to sneeze. I then cloak one of my paws in my aura and slap the green chicken in the back of the head. It then morphs into a green ferret. The other Titans chuckle as the force of my attack was apparently enough to force Beast Boy to morph.

"Well alright then", chuckled Cyborg. "Think you can do that again?" Without responding I slap my paw against the back of the ferret's head, causing him to then morph into a warthog. We all chuckle again, except for Beast Boy. "One more for good luck." I hit the pig again, causing him to morph again. The warthog morphed into an armadillo for a few seconds, and then quickly morphed back into his "human" form.

"Alright, alright, I get it", exclaimed Beast Boy as he waved his arms.

"Can we eat now", asked Raven impatiently as she rose to her feet.

"Aw yeah", said an excited Cyborg at the mention of food. He then rushes over to Raven as he links his left arm with her right arm. I immediately noticed a look on her face that said something along the lines of, "forget I asked". Cy then grabs at Beast Boy's purple shirt as he rushes both him and Raven towards the doorway and down the stairs. After the three of them disappeared from my line of sight, I began thinking to myself in my head about what had just happened.

_Did I dream all of that? But it felt so real. The town, my old house, the schools, my memories, the jewel, all of it? All of it was a dream?_ I then remembered that during the course of that dream that I had almost kissed Raven not once, not twice, but three times. _GOD DAMMIT_, I yell to myself in my head as I let out a roar in frustration. It wasn't loud enough for the others to hear, but enough to blow off some steam. I then pant for a moment to catch my breath, and then Change back to my wolf form once I had calmed down enough. _*Sigh, oh well. Guess better to kiss her in the real world than in a dream._ My thoughts about the disappointing truth about what had happened within the past few hours were interrupted by my stomach as it growled at me in anger. "Well first thing's first", I said as I trotted over to the doorway and made my way downstairs.


	16. (Un)Fortunate Events

I enter through the doorway of the living room to see the other Titans emptying large paper bags, each filled with Chinese boxes full of food. Most people would have no more than two or three bags of food. However, the Titans weren't normal people. They were six young teenagers (mostly), and one of the teenagers in question was Cyborg, who was a bottomless pit when it came to food, so it didn't really surprise me all that much to find that the guys came home with fifteen bags of food.

_Did I just say, "home"_, I asked myself in my head. It wasn't exactly a weird word or anything, but it was the first time I referenced the tower as being my home. I then began juggling that idea around in my head as I wondered if it was weird to think that, and if so, why it felt weird to say. I had been living there less than a week, so it seemed a bit weird that I was already referring to that place as home. My inner thoughts were interrupted by the Titan that recruited me.

"Yo! Wolfman", shouted Cyborg as I shook my head as if to snap myself out of my thoughts. I turn to my right to see him at the wall that the doorway was in standing next to some kind of security panel. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Do what exactly", I asked as I trotted over towards him.

"You'll see. But first….", started Cyborg as he then reaches out at me. Before I could even react or comprehend what was going on, he yanked out a strand of my fur from the side of my neck. I couldn't help but yelp at the sudden stinging feeling.

"You are not harmed. It was merely a hair", said Starfire as she floated by carrying a few more bags. Her eyes were closed and her face had a smug look on it. Though it was merely a dream created from my memories of when I first met her, I was still pretty ticked at her and her sister. Also, I hadn't forgotten about the little mini-match I had with her before all of that even happened.

_Why you arrogant, stuck up, little…._, I began in my head as I could feel a roar building up in my chest. I released it early when I felt a familiar pain on my tail. I turn behind me to see that Silkie, once again, was chewing on my tail. I instinctively growl at him, when Starfire starts again.

"Don't you dare", she warned as her fists and eyes began to glow green. I turn back to her and growl for a moment, but wince as Silkie had adjusted his grip and his teeth sank back into my tail.

"Then get your little grub a teething ring or something", I say angrily as I wag my tail trying to shake him off. Silkie responds by biting down harder, causing me to yelp again. Without even thinking about it I buck my back as if I was a bull at a rodeo, kicking Silkie off my tail in the process. Once he hit the ground, I charge at him and whinny as loud and aggressively as possible, like a stallion that some ranch boys are trying to break down. Frightened by the sight of a large wolf now wilin' out like a mad horse, Silkie shrieks and tucks its head towards the rest of his body. My intent was simply to frighten the grub, not to harm it. I simply wanted to let him know that my tail wasn't a toy. However, Starfire didn't quite see it that way.

She let out a battle cry as she fired yet another star bolt at me. I respond by rising to my hind legs and cloaking my right arm with my aura. I then used my aura-covered arm as a shield to deflect the blast. When the smoke had cleared I look over to see a familiar sight, an angry Starfire, fists and eyes burning green. As she floated over towards me, I heard her growl as she gritted her teeth at me.

_Is that all you've got? If so, then bring it on_, I thought to myself as I then showed her a _real_ growl as I pounded my chest like an alpha silverback. When I felt my point was made, I returned to all fours, but did so to where my front legs were held up by my fists, again, like a silverback. Starfire then begins to pull one of her arms back as if preparing to strike, so I respond by lowering my body and rotating my shoulders to prepare to lunge at her. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed that Silkie had retreated and hid under one of the restaurant booth seats off to the side, probably sensing that shit was about to get real. I was just about to make the first attack when one of the other Titans became either brave enough or stupid enough to willingly walk into the crossfire.

"Dude! You're also a horse _and_ a gorilla", asked Beast Boy as he steps in front of Starfire and faces me. Starfire and I immediately calm down upon seeing Beast Boy's intrusion.

"No, it's just imitation."

"You can imitate other animals? Cool! Do it again", said Beast Boy as he then morphs into an elephant. Starfire then is pushed out of the way by the large mammal's rear as she was too close to him when he morphed, and he in turn wasn't paying attention to her. Beast Boy then stomps his foot, lifts his trunk, and then trumpets. I respond similarly. I stomp my paw, scrunch up a bunch of the muscles in my throat and open my jaws. I could sense the looks of shock on the faces of the other Titans as they witnessed an elephant's cry escaping from the jaws of a wolf.

"Duuuuude", said Beast Boy as he morphs back to his human form.

"That's quite the talent", added Robin, now joining Cyborg's side. Raven then floated over to his right.

"Oh, we've got to do that again", exclaimed Beast Boy as he prepared to morph. He then jumps into the air and morphs into howler monkey. The monkey then lowers itself to all fours as it lifts its rear and tail in the air and hollers its signature holler. Sensing the pattern in this game, I mirror the monkey's movements and holler as well. Beast Boy, still very much amused by my ability to imitate goes on to morph into a crocodile, a falcon, a moose, and a monitor lizard. Beast Boy, now thinking this was a competition, morphs back into his human form and scratches his chin, trying to think of animals I couldn't imitate. He then snaps his fingers when he came up with an idea. "I've got it!"

"Got what", I ask as I lower myself to the ground to sit.

"The ultimate test", began Beast Boy as he dramatically moved his hands and fingers like he was sprinkling pixie dust all over the room. "The trials of all trials. The most monumental challenge ever imagined…."

"Just get on with it", pleaded Raven now becoming as impatient as I was. Beast Boy then did his weird "everybody's a critic" face as he glared at her out the corners of his eyes. He then immediately returns his gaze back to me and continues.

"If you can imitate into these next three animals, then I'll just walk away. You in?"

"Bring it on", I reply. _'Cause it's not like you're gonna ever leave me alone if I don't_, I thought to myself.

"Alrighty. Animal number one….", begins Beast Boy. He then morphs into a large ape-like creature. It towered over me at a height of eleven feet. It had a sort of pointed head, a terrible underbite, and hair on the sides of his face which I guess would've been the equivalent of sideburns, except that it hung rather loosely due to its length. It took me a minute to identify the animal he morphed into, but once I did, there was no denying it. I had only seen this animal once before, but due to the lore behind it, nobody ever believed me.

"You know of all the places you could've been, I gotta say, Jump City was the last place I expected to run into the legendary Bigfoot", I said sarcastically. Beast Boy simply responds with a mighty roar. It was a bit of a challenge, but after pounding on my chest like a gorilla again to hype myself up, I successfully managed to imitate the sasquatch's roar, much to Beast Boy's disappointment. He then morphs back to human form again.

"Okay okay okay, this one I know you can't do." He then morphs into this weird six-legged animal with an even worse underbite. It stood at about six feet tall on all sixes (never thought I'd ever have to use a phrase like that), had small, but angry-looking eyes, and its body in my opinion kinda reminded me of a cross between a hippo, a hairless Wild Mutt from "Ben 10", and a Trapinch. This animal was even more bizarre-looking than the last one.

"What is that? What even is that", I ask as I look to my right at Raven, Robin, and Cyborg. Without saying anything they all just point over to my left at Starfire, who wasn't as amused as the others to say the least. I then made the assumption that their pointing at Starfire, who as expected said nothing to answer my question, meant that this green six-legged animal I was looking at was something native to Tamaran, or at least native to a planet other than Earth. However, much to my surprise when I discovered that imitating its cry was much easier than the sasquatch. Whereas the sasquatch sounded like they spliced James Earl Jones' deep voice with a very, very quiet roar and then lowered it by ten octaves, this alien animal's voice wasn't that far off from a generic bellow you would get from various species of Earth's mammals. In any case, I successfully passed Beast Boy's second challenge, so it was on to the grande finale.

Beast Boy, once again defeated, then returns to his human form to taunt and hype up his final challenge. As for how or what he said to do so, I don't really remember. I just remember kinda zoning off and tuning him out up until he morphed. When he did finally begin to morph and I came to, I remember the feeling of intimidation bubbling up inside of me as I looked up at Beast Boy as he towered over me. It wasn't so much the choice of animal he morphed into, it was moreso that this was the first time I had ever been in a situation where I was opposing this particular species of animal. Usually, in situations in which this animal made its grande appearance, I'm usually on the opposite side of the board, so having it towering over me for the first time was truly quite surreal. I remember my ears lowering and me backing up slightly as I quite literally got caught in this enormous monster's shadow. This moment of surrealism came to a quick close as Beast Boy, now twenty feet tall and like a dumbass, hits his head on the ceiling which was only fifteen feet from the floor. A reptilian groan escapes through his teeth as he stumbles for a moment trying to shake off the feeling of dizziness that came from the blow to his head. It was then that I remembered that I was more than familiar with this species of animal. Beast Boy morphed into this animal with the intent of seeing if I can imitate it. What he didn't know was that I didn't have to do any actual imitating, my roar would come naturally.

Having regained its balance, the large, green lizard adjusts its body by spreading its legs farther apart so that it could crouch under the ceiling. It then takes a deep breath, and releases a monstrous roar so powerful that you could almost feel that Beast Boy was declaring his dominance of the Earth 65 million years ago. Even I had to admit it, that roar gave me goosebumps, but I sure as Hell wasn't going to tell him that. Hyped and pumped up by Beast Boy's challenge I began to Change, or at least I tried.

_Lobomon digivolve to…._, I began in my head. Much to my disappointment when I discovered that I still lacked the ability to Change to my ultimate form. _Thanks, Doctor Light_, I think to myself as I roll my eyes in frustration.

"What is the matter? Does the king of tyrants stump you", asks Starfire sarcastically as she motions to Beast Boy's dinosaur form.

"Not a bit", I respond to her confidently. Just because I couldn't Change into the animal I wanted to, didn't mean it still wasn't a part of me. I then rise to my hind legs and draw in my arms in a manner that mimicked those of Beast Boy's current form. I then lower the top half of my top forward so that my head, spine, and tail were parallel to the floor. I then spread my paws apart, stomping as I did so to sort of "get into character". It didn't matter that my Change had failed, I was just as much of a prehistoric reptile as Beast Boy was, and I was determined to prove it regardless of my current canine form. _"Jurassic Park" ain't got shit on me_, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Upon my exhale I opened my eyes and released as big, as loud, and as powerful of a tyrannosaurus roar that I could muster that I quite literally managed to upstage Beast Boy's roar, to the point where the very room shook, and dust fell from the crack in the ceiling caused by Beast Boy's noggin. I remember the looks of shock and awe as the Titans had just witnessed a six foot tall werewolf roar bigger and louder than the twenty foot tall tyrannosaurus rex that stood in front of him. Beast Boy then morphs back into his human form to join in with the other Titans, with the exception of the still unamused Starfire, in applause.

"Dude, that was awesome", exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Nicely done", added Robin. Cyborg simply let out one of his signature "boo-yah!"'s. I look over to Robin's right to see Raven clapping with a small grin on her face. Feeling energized, confident, and powerful, I return to my human form and give a bow as if I had just given an award-winning performance.

"Man, did you see that? It was almost as if he was a real….", said Beast Boy as he trailed off. I noticed him staring at something in my direction, so I then step to my right and look behind me to see what he was looking at. When I couldn't find anything I returned my gaze back to him. It was then that I noticed that it was me he was staring at. In fact all of the Titans were staring at me. Even Starfire floated over towards the others to join in.

"What", I ask suspiciously.

"Your uh, your uh….", began Beast Boy as he pointed at the side of his head.

"Spit it out, Beast Boy!" Cyborg then opens a drawer, pulls out a spoon, and tosses it to me.

"This is a spoon", I said with the spoon in my hand as I pretended to be Percy Jackson as if he were quoting one of his funnier lines, "this is a pen".

"Your eyes….", began Cyborg as he pointed to his own robotic, red eye.

"They're different….", finished Starfire. I then use the spoon to look at my reflection to see what they were referring to. Through the distorted reflection, I saw that my brown eyes, though they were yellow a moment ago, were currently orange. Not only that, they kinda looked like my snake eyes, in the sense that they were more reptilian-like than mammal-like.

I too was shocked at the sight of my orange eyes, but not in the sense that it had never happened before, because in actuality it was a normal part of my mutation. With the ability to Change into various animals and forms, my eyes often Changed colors as well. When they turned yellow I became Lobomon. When they turned green I became Mambamon. When they turned blue I became Patheramon, and sometimes Ursamon. They turned red when I became Arachnimon. And orange meant Tyrannomon, my ultimate form. However, seeing as how I had just tried Changing into him mere moments ago and failed due to my powers still being too weak to complete the Change, it seemed rather odd that my eyes had Changed from brown to orange, especially considering that I never intended them to.

I then open my mouth and rotate my head so I could see my teeth. They were still flat and in human form. I then close my eyes and try to Change into Tyrannomon again. I then open my eyes to see that not only did I fail to do so, but I watched as the orange in my eyes faded back to their default brown color. I then blink my eyes as if they were like a switch trying to turn my eyes orange again. I growled a little when I saw that they were still brown. I then went down the list of the eye colors of all my other forms, blinking and Changing my eyes as I did so. First red, then green, then yellow, then blue. I blink once more to try to Change my blue eyes orange, but they turned brown again.

_Dammit! I was SO close_, I yell to myself, frustrated once again with the knowledge that I still couldn't use the majority of my powers yet.

"Dude, you okay", asked Beast Boy. I immediately "fixed myself" to where I wasn't angry anymore, or at least made an effort to not make myself appear angry.

"It's all good, guys. Just my powers acting up again is all."

"Good, 'cause now we can eat."

"Hold it, BB. I still have to show Wolfman what I've been working on." Upon remembering my interrupted conversation with Cyborg, I rub the side of my neck in reference to the hair he yanked from it. Cyborg then walks over to the security panel from before. When he reaches his destination, he turns to me and says, "you comin'?"

"What am I even doing", I ask as I walk over to the panel to meet him.

"This meal's kinda big, so we're gonna need a bigger table." I raise an eyebrow in response to Cyborg's very vague, if that, description of what he wanted me to do. It didn't take me long to realize that he wasn't going to tell me what I should be doing. I was actually prepared to read his mind to get the information I needed, but then that's when I had a thought.

_Hang on, Fernando. You don't really _need _to read his mind_, I thought to myself. As a mutant with both magical and psychic abilities, one of the things I have to always keep in mind is the concept of boundaries, and when is crossing those boundaries too far. It was one thing for me to read the mind of Liv's partner and her daughter in order to return an infant child home to her parents, but it was a completely different thing to read Cyborg's mind simply because I wanted backstage sneak peek at this "surprise" of his. And no, I'm not always a saint or perfect when it comes to restraining myself from reading other people's minds, but even then, I at least minimized it to reading their current and present thoughts, and usually only doing it with strangers, like when I was at the stoplight waiting to cross the street after Rancid had mugged me. Those were just everyday people that I never had really any intention of getting to know or interacting with them. Cyborg on the other hand was different. He was a teammate.

Though I hadn't been a Titan for even a week yet, it still didn't change the fact that I was a teammate of his. As a Teen Titan, I was to live, train, and fight alongside Cyborg and the others as a team, and part of being a team is learning to trust and bond with each other, and it wouldn't be fair of me to read their minds and have access to all of their thoughts, but then go to great lengths to keep myself distant from the others. The Teen Titans may not have been members of my Horde, my Pack, or even the Elementals, but if I was to live alongside them, I had to learn to treat them as I would any of my other associates. I taught Asia, two of my sisters, an ex-girlfriend, and several other mutants about having integrity when it came to their gifts of mind-reading, so it was time to practice what I preached.

Besides, it was Cyborg. If Beast Boy or Starfire had asked me to do this, then I probably would've sensed foul play. Cyborg on the other hand seemed sincere and probably the most friendly, welcoming, and genuine among the other Titans, second only to Raven. If I was to put trust into any of the Titans other than Raven, it would've definitely been Cyborg.

Having decided to not read his mind, I step forward towards the panel for a closer look. The panel itself wasn't all that big, and that was based on the fact that the borders of the panel were only two, maybe two and a half, inches away from the outline of a right hand in the center. However, with that said, in the free/blank space around the hand, there were a great many buttons, levers, and switches. They were all labeled, and most of those labels described some high-tech equipment, like the "city radar" button.

_These guys don't mess around_, I thought to myself as I started to draw a vague picture of how the Titans operated as far as monitoring crime in Jump City. After looking over what felt like thousands of buttons and such, I eventually come to one that read, "table". _Seems simple enough_, I thought to myself as I pushed the button. When nothing happened, I looked over towards the hand outline and noticed that it was glowing red, which indicated that I had to confirm or approve my decision. I then raised my right hand and pushed it towards the outline, but then stopped when I had an idea. It came to me when I remembered that the hair that Cyborg yanked from my neck was from when I was in wolf form. I was curious as to how well this computer system could pin-point my DNA.

I then focus my powers into my right hand and undergo what I call a Branched Change. To put it simply, I was essentially trying to Change into multiple forms at the exact same time. It took a lot of energy and a but of strain to pull off, and I dared not ever try to do so completely, but for what I could safely do, I Changed four of my five fingers into fingers from some of my other forms. I kept my human thumb, but from my index finger to my pinky, I "borrowed" fingers from Lobomon, BeastLobomon, Pantheramon, and Gizamon respectively. When my Branched Change was complete, my right hand had four fingers and claws from four different animals on it, complete with fur. The human eye couldn't tell that the fur on each finger were from different animals except in the case of BeastLobomon, who was the only one of the four with brown fur, but I could see the differences in the fur and how they unnaturally blended on the back of my hand, as if my body was confused as to what I was trying to do. I look up at Cyborg, curious to see if he witnessed what I just did. He simply grinned and nodded his head, as if he knew that I was challenging the legitimacy of his system. With that, I pressed my deformed hand onto the outline and watched as a green bar scanned it from top to bottom. A generic female computer voice then began to speak.

"Scan complete. Titan identified. Access approved." I then noticed a strange quiet rumble in the floor. I turn around to see that the sofa was slowly disappearing into the floor via a mechanized trap door. Once the sofa was completely submerged, the floor closed shut for a moment. I could still hear mechanical noises shifting and moving things around under the floor. After about half a minute or so, the floor opened up again, and from it came a rather large, round table, with the Teen Titans logo (that letter "T" that seems to pop up everywhere in the tower) on it. The floor also brought up six chairs. Nothing fancy, but they were still above standard.

"Well alright then", began Cyborg as he swatted me on the back. I cringed slightly upon the impact his metal arm left on my spine. "Let's eat!" Upon hearing him say that the other Titans immediately began to gather the containers of food and bring them to the table, except for Raven, who paused for a moment to look back at me before floating off. I hesitate for a moment upon seeing her do so, but then begin to walk over to join the others. I take about two steps forward when I notice that I was still walking on two legs. I then look down at myself and realize that I was still in my human form.

_Whoops. I almost forgot_, I thought to myself as I placed the spoon I still had in my hand on the kitchen counter and lowered myself to the ground. From a crouched position, I then Change into my wolf form and trot towards the table. Though I wasn't expecting anyone to have a jump scare upon seeing me as a wolf at this point, I did however notice that everyone was a bit shocked and confused as to why I took the time to Change back into my wolf form before joining them for breakfast, especially Starfire, who I could tell still felt that I didn't trust the Titans. I ignore the stares however and make my way around the table to find me a seat. I then noticed Raven take a seat on the far side of the table I was aiming to sit at. Immediately after that, Cyborg takes the seat on her right, causing me to increase my stride a tad. I was aiming for the seat on Raven's left. I don't know if it was to make up for all that non-existent time I wasted in the weird memory world, or if it was because of the confidence boost I got from Beast Boy's challenge, but either way, I was determined to try and start over and break the ice with Raven there and now. Just was I was so close to the seat next to her that I could've lunged onto it, Starfire then runs some interference by blocking my path, but did so with her back turned to me to make it look like she didn't see me, but I knew better. I immediately come to an awkward halt as Starfire then proceeds to take her seat next to Raven, pausing for a moment to cut a glare at me from the corners of her eyes. I remember the feeling of the world slowing down again as I glared back at her, resisting the urge to growl at her. Starfire was completely aware of what she was doing, and so was I.

In the animal world, this would be the moment where two males of just about any species would glare at one another during the calm before the storm, with the storm being the fight over a mate. The only difference in this case was that Starfire didn't see Raven as a potential mate, she was simply guarding her friend. However, we were still fighting over Raven, so the heat was on just the same. Just when I tracted my claws to prepare for attack, I randomly look past Starfire at Raven. It was at that moment that she looked to her left, as if she could sense that I was watching her, and made eye contact with me. It was then that her voice rang in my head, saying what she had said earlier when she broke up my argument with Robin a few hours ago: "we just ended one fight. Now is not the time to start another like a couple of idiots". Upon remembering her words, I then made the decision to turn the other cheek and find myself another seat.

_This is _far _from over_, I thought to myself as I continued my path behind Starfire and Raven around the table. I then settle for taking my seat next to Cyborg. I didn't trust myself to sit next to Starfire or Robin without being dragged into another fight. Robin, as expected takes a seat next to Starfire, while Beast Boy sat in between him and me. The table was almost completely covered in takeout containers full of Chinese food. I was zeroed in on one container in particular, a large bowl-sized cup with a plastic lid on top. The smell of Chinese-style curry chicken tickled my nose and teased my stomach. I then flicked my serpent tongue, not only to enjoy the smell further, but to prepare my tongue to stretch across the table just as I did when Raven made pancakes, because I could tell, especially since I was sitting between Cyborg and Beast Boy, that this was going to be a "first come, first serve" brawl for the food.

"Oh wait", exclaimed Beast Boy. "I almost forgot", he said as he reaches in the center of the table and grabs a much smaller paper bag. He then turns it over and dumps out its contents, which we discovered were six individually packaged fortune cookies. It was at that moment that I heard a familiar "cooing" sound. Resisting the urge to look around the room for that dove I knew wouldn't be there, I then notice that one of the cookies was sort of "calling out to me". I can't really explain it, except to say that I could sense "something" about one of the fortune cookies specifically, and that I couldn't help but grab it. It was like I was being drawn to it, like I was supposed to have it, but I didn't know why. Thinking that I was simply reaching out and grabbing a cookie, the other Titans then reach out and claim one for themselves.

"I say we crack these cookies open first", continued Beast Boy.

"Oh, come on! Can't we just eat already", complained Cyborg.

"I am confused. These are cookies, yet you crack them open like eggs", asked Starfire. I almost facepalmed upon hearing her say that, but didn't upon remembering that it wasn't her fault that she didn't know what fortune cookies were.

"They're not really cookies, Starfire. We just call them that", explained Robin.

"Oh, so it is similar to how Earth's nuts of dough aren't truly nuts, correct?"

"At least she's learning", said Raven sarcastically.

"Yeah, Star. You crack 'em open like this", began Beast Boy as he tore off the wrapper and opened his cookie. "And then, you get a fortune", he said as he unfolded the small piece of paper that fell out. Once he had opened it, he began to read aloud. ""Only beauty can tame the inner beast". Well, I'm a beast inside, and I'm pretty tame, so that must mean I'm beautiful", said Beast Boy with a cheesy grin. I didn't have to look at the other Titans, I could feel that they were just staring at him with sarcastic looks, as was I. Beast Boy then responds as his grin is replaced with his "everybody's a critic (EAC)" face. "Nobody say a word."

"How delightful! I shall go next", said a now easily amused Starfire as she opens her cookie. ""The thing that troubles you the most, will soon know inner peace". How wondrous", chuckles Starfire as she completely brushed over the fact that her fortune was kinda deep. Robin, sensing a pattern, was the next to open his cookie.

"Hmmmm. "Trust is a two-way street". Seems pretty straight forward. Who's up next?"

"How about you, Raven? Why don't you open your pastry of fortunes", pleaded Starfire. Raven then rolls her eyes as she reluctantly opens hers.

""Patience is the key"." Raven then looks up at Beast Boy, who responded to her stare by waving his right hand as if to say, "hi" while bringing back his cheesy grin. "Guess I'm doomed." Cyborg and I snicker in response to Raven's joke as Beast Boy's head and right hand droop forward for comedic effect.

"My turn, then", said Cyborg as he crushes his cookie open in his hand. He then removes the fortune from his palm with his free hand and dumps the crushed pieces of cookie into his mouth. He waited until he finished chewing and swallowing before reading his aloud, which for him took no time at all, as if he had decided to swallow the cookie whole instead of chewing it. ""You will not be forgotten". This fortune makes it sound like I'm a toy or something."

"Coming soon to a Toys R Us near you", began Beast Boy as he pretended to be a dramatic announcer on a radio commercial. "The new Cyborg action figure, batteries not included", said Beast Boy as he reaches behind Robin's back and pretends to pull a cord from it.

"Boo-yah", exclaims Robin. He and Beast Boy then fist-bump in recognition of their successful execution of a joke.

"But don't action figures require neither strings nor batteries", asked Starfire. Cyborg, Raven, and I immediately bust out laughing, though Raven made efforts to restrain her laughter to a minimum. I think I speak for us all when I say that Starfire is the last person we were expecting to ruin one of Beast Boy's jokes, which made the process of her ruining his joke even funnier.

"New guy's up next", said Cyborg as he swatted me on the back again. I cringe once again in response. I then tear off the wrapper from my fortune cookie, but then pause when I notice everyone looking at me, which made me nervous.

_Calm down, Fernando! Don't be nervous! Why are you nervous_, I thought to myself as I hoped to not say or do anything stupid. I then clear my throat as I opened my cookie and began to read. ""Reading is fundamental"." I then flip my fortune to the other side as if expecting there to be more. "I guess that's it."

"Well, that was lame", began Cyborg. "But whatever, let's eat!" Cyborg then reaches over and grabs the curry chicken I was spying on earlier. The other Titans respond by darting to get their fair share before he and Beast Boy devoured everything. I was just about to reach out and snatch the curry chicken from Cyborg, but then I heard that dove again, except this time it was immediately followed by the sound of a girl laughing. I look at the other Titans as they continued to gather food and eat. As expected, none of them heard it. The dove then cooes one more time, and the girl laughs a second time. I then look down at the fortune I still held in my hand. The text still read, "reading is fundamental".

_"Reading is fundamental"_, I repeated to myself in my head. It was then that the fortune, as if it was alive and heard my thoughts, materialized a single eyeball, illustrated from the same ink that the fortune was written from, at the top of the fortune, above the text. I blink my eyes a few times, as if I was going crazy and needed to confirm that what I was seeing was real and not an illusion. The eyeball then adjusts its gaze slightly and looks up at me and blinks back. It was then I remembered a girl I met back in high school due a similar situation. "Kendall", I asked in a whisper. The eyeball, clearly having a mind of its own, blinks once again in response. The text then fades away on the fortune, but then is immediately replaced by a new fortune. I look back up at the other Titans for a moment, before reading it. Fortunately for me, they were all preoccupied in their meals. I look back down at the new fortune and begin to read to myself. "_The lone wolf of darkness will die, when the autumn moon appears in the sky"_. Upon reading that my heart dropped, because I knew what was going on. I knew that eyeball looked familiar, and it was. It was Kendall's trademark, which lets those of us who know of her powers know that she's involved somehow. I guess she was warning me of something to come in the near future, with the emphasis on "near". The moon was just full three days ago, so according to her prediction, I had less than a month to live. _This is bad. Really, really bad_, I thought to myself.

My mind then begins to race as I thought of the fact that I was going to die. At the age of twenty-one, I was going to die. How was I going to die? Where was I going to die? Should I notify my friends and family? How do I do so without endangering them, since Doctor Light was still on the loose somewhere? I then thought about how my early death would affect the Elementals. We were already three Elementals down, the last thing we needed was a fourth one to die, especially considering that unlike Taiyo and Ryan, I had no children of my own to carry on the legacy of the Elemental of Darkness. Upon thinking about how I had no children, I then thought about how little time I had left on Earth to spend with Raven. Even worse, how I was going to die a virgin.

_This is just all kinds of wrong_, I thought to myself as I resisted the urge to either cry or flip the table with all my might. Kendall's eye then blinks again as it and the new fortune fades away, and the original fortune, "reading is fundamental", returns. _Oh, come on! What kind of Harry Potter bullshitory is that?_ As if they could hear my thoughts, Kendall laughs once again, and the dove cooes once again. "Glad you two think this is funny", I muttered.

"Hey, Wolfman", said Robin, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You gonna eat anything?" I look back at the table and notice that in the short time I spent reading my fortunes, Cyborg and Beast had already made a significant dent in the mountain of food they brought back. I then fold up the fortune and shove it into my pocket.

"Yeah. Save some for me", I said unenthusiastically as I grabbed a box of steamed rice and a pair of chopsticks. _After all, this is going to be one of my last meals._


	17. Gasping For Air

After breakfast, the first thing I did was trot over to the bathroom. I needed to wash my face and reflect for a bit. I had originally planned on doing so at the kitchen sink, with the promise of cleaning the dishes as a cover to do so, but Starfire wouldn't even let me have that. She blocked me from doing the dishes just as she did when she prevented me from sitting next to Raven. This didn't bother me too much however, after all the joke was on her based on the fact that she wound up volunteering herself to do the dishes.

Once I got to the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and kicked on the sink. I plugged the drain and let the sink fill all the way to the top, reflecting about the message I just read moments ago.

_Why is this happening? Why now? Is it a warning about the return of Doctor Light? Or is it something else? Maybe Rancid? Does my death have anything to do with the others? How will Andre fair with me out of the way? Can the two of them find the others alone? And what about Kendall? How does she know what's to come? Did she have another vision? But if so, why did I sense that dove? Is she involved? And for that matter what about that other woman in the white cloak? Is she involved? Who the Hell even is she?_ My brain felt like it was running one hundred miles a minute with all of the overwhelming questions being bombarded at me, and all because of a little rhyme on the tiniest piece of paper.

Once the sink had filled to the top, I Changed back into my human form. I then go on to take off my shirt, as well as the white "wife-beater" shirt underneath. Usually, this would be the time where I take a moment to look myself over in disgust, especially since there was a large mirror in front of me. However I had bigger issues to worry about. I then walk over to the sink and look down at the pool of water below. I poke one of my fingers in it, but then quickly yank it away. It was ice cold.

_Perfect_, I thought to myself as I prepared for the maneuver I was about to do, or at least attempt. At that moment, my mind replayed to earlier that morning when Raven asked me if I had ever meditated before. Just as I told her, there was a time when I was younger when I did it often. Back then, my dark powers weren't nearly as powerful, nor did I have as many additional powers or forms. However, as I got older and obtained more powers, it became more and more difficult to concentrate on meditation. It was like my brain wouldn't shut up. I did however, learned to do other mind tricks, like long-ranged telepathy.

When it came to wolf telepathy, from what I've come to understand, some werewolves within the same Pack had the ability to communicate and converse with one another telepathically. Usually they were wolves with stronger wills, or higher ranks. The drawback was, the wolves in question had to be close range of each other. For instance, with any of my other wolves, I had to be within the boundaries of Pack territory, or no more than a couple miles outside of it to still use telepathy to call to them. The only exceptions to this rule were the other Elementals. Though we were all werewolves ourselves, our Elemental powers allowed us to communicate telepathically on a global scale. If I had really wanted to right at that moment in the bathroom, I could've easily contacted either Ryan or Andre. Hell, I probably could've possibly located Taiyo, Asia, or Adryen for that matter. The only reason I didn't was because despite my body being in a healthy state, my powers were still very much weakened.

It was safe to assume that Ryan and Andre had both tried to telepathically contact the others before telling me that they could no longer find them anywhere, and besides it would've been disastrous if I wound up locating any of them anyhow. My biggest fear was that if I did locate the missing Elementals via telepathy, it would signal their captors where I was. Normally I wouldn't worry about that too much, since they were my friends and I was always willing to risk my life for them. However, back then I was sure that I could take them on. In the state I was currently in, I was not. Although I was, in theory, the strongest of the Elementals, I wasn't so sure that I could take on whoever or whatever managed to capture three Elementals already.

Also, it wasn't so much the fact that they managed to capture three of the Elementals that scared me, because it has happened before, it was the way they were doing it that scared me. Usually if one or more of us happened to be captured, it was either because we lost a battle and they took a few prisoners, in which case all we had to do was regroup and create a new attack plan, or if they did target us individually, we could easily call for backup and stall in the meantime. However, these guys were not only targeting us, but they were somehow managing to break us apart from each other. Based on what Andre told me about Taiyo's distress signal, whoever was pursuing us had found a way to keep us from connecting with one another. This was confirmed when that video from Kenya showed me that Adryen had tried summoning us for help via his aurora, but failed to do so. We Elementals relied on our connections with each other.

As powerful as we were individually, we always knew there would come times when we weren't strong enough to defeat certain enemies on our own, so we leaned on one another. Usually I could always feel the other Elementals were with me, no matter where in the world I was. I could always feel that if I really needed them, they'd always be there, like Taiyo was when Doctor Light appeared in Anchorage. However, since arriving in Jump City, I no longer felt those connections anymore, at least not all of them. In Andre and Ryan's cases, it was because I told them to not seek me out, which based on the fact that I sensed or heard no attempts in trying to contact me, told me that they were honoring my request. With the others, it was like the fell off the face of the Earth. It was like Adryen, Asia, and Taiyo no longer existed. Not only were their connections broken, but they were picked off one by one.

Not only that, but in addition to targeting us one by one, they were targeting our families one by one, and I could tell that they did their homework. As long as we Elementals have been doing what we've been doing, I had never seen anyone target the families of the other five Elementals. As the Elemental of Darkness, and leader of the other Elementals, usually villains targeted my family trying to weaken and shake me up, which is why the others didn't live with much fear for their families. Hell, most people don't even associate Megan, Francesca, or Yea Seul with the Elementals, let alone their children, whom most don't even know exist. So the fact that they, as well as their parents and other relatives were also attacked in attempts to weaken us frightened me as well. That and the fact that they didn't target any of my family, at least not my biological family. It was relatively normal for villains to target my family, both biological and non-biological, however, anyone who knew me would tell you that for years, I have had no real emotional connection with my biological family, so the fact that these people ignored my mother, who was in Anchorage with me when I was attacked, told me that they knew plenty about us already.

_Oh no, what if they go after them instead_, I asked myself as I worried about the safety of April, Sammie, and all of my other adoptive family. _That's it, I need help. We all need help, which brings me here…._, I thought as I brought my attention back to the sink of cold water. What I was about to attempt was going to be extremely risky, and dangerous. I was about to attempt long-range wolf telepathy, but that wasn't the risky part, actually there were several parts of my little idea that were risky. The first of which was that I had never done anything like this before. The second of which was that I was basing it off of something April once did on accident.

What made my sister's lycanthropy so legendary, other than her unique fur color, was her backstory on how she became a werewolf. April Fischer was born and raised in South Dakota as a human, but was introduced to the mutant community by yours truly at the age of sixteen. After meeting her, she soon became one of my dearest friends, and soon after that my big sister, thereby also making her a target, a target for someone like Christian. To make a long story short(er), after the ninth grade, I moved to Germany, leaving Box Elder under the sole protection of Sammie. With me gone, Christian saw an opportunity to take over the Pack's Territory. He went on a spree of raping and killing random women, which eventually led him to April. However, since he knew what her relation to me was, he decided simply raping her wasn't good enough for him. He decided to break the code.

You see, mutants, or at least those that the code applied to, live by an unwritten, unofficial code of three unbreakable rules. The first was that we didn't hunt humans or domesticated animals. The second was that we didn't Turn or Change humans or the domesticated. Now obviously those first two rules had exceptions and mistakes do happen, like in the case of how I bit Sammie, but it was the third rule that was our most important rule, and therefore the most sinful to break. Under no circumstances, were we to partake in beastiality, which we defined as either having sex with animals, or having having sex with humans while in animal form, and it was to my disgust and horror that Christian chose to break this rule with April. He didn't want to kill her, he wanted to make an example of her. However, it wasn't the "how" that made April's lycanthropy so unique, it was the "when".

You see, after Christian did what he did to her, April's body should've began to attempt the Change within the following 24 hours, but that wasn't the case. Not only did April's body not undergo the Change, but she quite literally resisted it for about three months before it finally took over her, and it was only because of that that I even found out that she had been raped. April somehow found a way to "fight off" the Change and only lost because of what resulted from Christian's attack. Christian was not only responsible for April's lycanthropy, but he was also Isaac's father. April may have been able to fight off her own lycanthropy, but her being three-months pregnant with an unborn werewolf pup was more than enough to overtake her. She eventually wound up being forced to Change and wound up going on a rampage due ro having no control of her new powers. Sammie did her best to protect the town and did eventually calm her down, at least enough to where I could make the trip back and train her. However, in the heat of her rampage, April did take a few casualties. According to the police reports, she attacked fifteen citizens of Box Elder, three citizens of Rapid City, and three herds worth of cattle. It was a bloodbath to say the least, so much so that only two of her victims survived her onslaught. Those two survivors were two young women named Charlotte Schmidt and Alyssa Nightingale.

As expected, April was found guilty of several charges of murder, but thanks to Adryen's slick lawyer talk (Adryen was the brains behind the Elementals, so he would occasionally represent us in courtrooms despite him not being licensed), she got off by claiming insanity. After a two-month trial, she wound up spending the following four months in a psychiatric ward, as ordered by the courts, which unfortunately is where Isaac was born. I remembered how when she was drugged, April would constantly scream, "why didn't you help me? I called for you! Why didn't you help me?" She was referring to her first Change, and how she was calling out to her little brother for help.

On the day when April Changed for the first time, I was in Germany, Ramstein High School. It was right before winter break of my sophomore year, and I was dying of boredom in a tedious as Hell English class. I remember nearly jumping out of my seat as I heard April's voice screaming in my head. She was scared and in pain. I could hear her loud and clear, as if she was in the very same room with me. Unfortunately, I was at that point in my life where I felt I needed to hide my mutation, so I couldn't explain that I had a family emergency based on a voice in my head. I was forced to go the rest of the class listening to my sister's screams until they just randomly stopped. As soon as the class ended I went straight to my cell phone and called Sammie. When she didn't respond I called Adryen and sent him to investigate for me, though he never made it in time to stop April's wrath.

After it happened, Adryen had come up with a theory for April's voice in my head. He theorized that maybe it was the fact that April had a very strong will (which would also account for how she fought off the Change for so long) and/or the fact that she was in pain and frightened beyond belief. Either way, basically what he was saying was that April had gone under so much stress, that her natural wolf instincts kicked in and she called for help, by calling me. A part of me never forgave myself for not being able to help her, but with the idea I just thought up in that bathroom, I felt I could finally do her right. That was assuming that it would work, however.

There were three catches to my idea. The first was the person I was trying to contact. When April contacted me, she was a werewolf contacting another werewolf, and although she wasn't a member of the Pack back then, she still felt I was family, which might've helped her to do so. The person I was trying to contact was neither a family member nor a werewolf, but I was using the fact that Kendall was also a fellow member of the supernatural as a stretch.

The second catch was that April contacted me on accident. When April called out to me, she did so as a sort of natural reaction. Her body may have instinctively called me, but as far she could tell she was most likely just wishing I was there, like her thoughts were on a megaphone or something. As for me, I was about to duplicate what April did intentionally.

And lastly, April went through a lot of stress, fear, and pain to contact me the way she did. With that said, I was about to recreate a similar situation. For April, her situation was the pain that came with being forced to Change while being three-months pregnant and with no knowledge or control of her own powers. My situation was going to involve drowning.

"Here goes everything", I said as I walked over to the sink. I then leaned forward and placed my hands on both sides of the sink. Before taking one final breath I whispered to myself, "this one's for you, April". And with that, I closed my eyes and submerged my face in the water below. As I held my breath under the water, my mind began racing immediately.

_Okay, Fernando, concentrate. Call for Kendall. Call for Kendall. Call for Kendall._ Though I knew what I wanted to do, the matter of how to do it was a mystery to me. _I don't think this is working. Wait, how would I know? Is it working? How will I know if it's working?_ Upon asking myself that, I noticed that I was starting to need air. _Ah, forget it, this idea was stupid_. It was then that I heard that dove again, and once again it was accompanied by Kendall's giggling. _Wait a second, I can hear them. Maybe it is working. Well let's see how far I can go. I said I was going to drown, and that's what I'm going to do._ I had also decided to kick things up a notch, by opening my eyes under the water. The moment the water made contact with my eyes, I could immediately feel what little breath I had left leaving my lungs. My eyes were burning, and it made things more and more difficult to concentrate. I was tempted to Change my eyes to one of my animal forms, but decided against it right away. I wanted the pain. I wanted the stress. I wanted to be as uncomfortable as possible in the hopes that I could contact Kendall just as April contacted me.

Eventually, my already blurry vision started getting even blurrier. I also started to feel light-headed and dizzy, which was made clear to me by the fact that my legs and arms were now shaking as if they were each having their own little seizure. My heart began punching my ribcage, and it felt like my lungs were about to explode. I had never held my breath for this long, and it was quite literally killing me. Sensing that I probably couldn't take anymore torture, I open my mouth and scream, "Kendall!" As bubbles escaped from my mouth while I screamed at seemingly nothing, I instinctively, yet accidentally, gasp for breath, causing me to inhale a large gulp of water. Once that happened, I immediately began swallowing water uncontrollably, yet somehow I couldn't stop or lift my head out of the water. It was kinda like when I was fighting Johnny Rancid and quite literally couldn't let go of his fists when he started draining my energy. I was trapped, and starting to get a bit scared. It was around this time during my _brilliant_ idea that I saw a white light, and the world seemed to slow down once again.

_Oh, shit, did I just die?_ Not the reaction most people would have when they look death in the eye, but then again I was willingly choosing to drown.

"Not yet, my prince". It took me a moment, but I recognized the voice. It was that woman from before, the one in the white cloak. Suddenly I could see her, along with two other women. The white hooded woman stood on the far left, and Kendall on the far right. And in the middle, for some reason, stood Raven. I knew not if they were all actually there, if I was imagining that, or what, but upon seeing Raven's violet eyes, I found myself catching a second wind of energy. I could also hear her heartbeat staggering mine once again as well. With my final breath I open my mouth wider and scream one more time.

"KENDALL!" When I couldn't take anymore, my eyes began to glow purple, and my aura sort of exploded from my face. I then blacked out, but only for a few seconds. I'm not entirely sure what happened during those few seconds, but when I came to, I was on the bathroom floor, lying on my side, gasping for air, and coughing up water from my wind pipe. After lying on the floor, with my whole body aching in pain for what felt like maybe ten, fifteen minutes, I slowly pick myself up off the ground and make my way back over to the sink. As I leaned over the sink once again, I unplug the drain and look up at the mirror in front of me.

My face and hair were dripping wet, my eyes were damn near bloodshot and irritated, and the muscles in my face were twitching uncontrollably. Exhausted and relieved that I survived probably the dumbest idea I'd ever had, I hang my head for a moment, panting as I tried to catch my breath.

"I, am never, doing that, ever, again", I said as I struggled to both speak and breath.

"You okay", asked Cyborg from out of nowhere as he put his hand on my shoulder. The suddenness of him touching me caused me to jump. He shocked me to the point where I slipped on a puddle of water I spilled on the floor and fell back onto my back. I groaned in pain as Cyborg stood over me. "Whoops."

"Dammit, Cyborg", I groaned, still weak from almost drowning to death. "What is it?"

"Well I heard a "thud" and came to see what was up. You okay?"

"Yeah. I uh, I just fell."

"Here", he said as he offered his hand to me. I grabbed it as he hoisted me onto my feet. "You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Cy", I said a tad defensively.

"Okay. Well anyway, that's not the only reason why I'm here."

"Of course it isn't", I said sarcastically as I began putting my shirts back on. Cyborg then pulls out what looked like a credit card. It was pitch-black and had no writing on either side of it. "What's that?"

"What I came to talk to you about. Come on, let's go set it up."

"Set what up?"

"You'll see", said Cyborg as he walked out of the bathroom.

_Ugh. Let's see here, I fought Starfire three times today, learned that I was going to die in less than thirty days, and I almost killed myself trying to phone a friend. Well, whatever this is, guess it's pretty safe to say that the worst is over for today_, I thought to myself as I began to walk out of the bathroom after Cyborg.


	18. Questions

As I walked out of the bathroom, my mind began to wander again, so much so that I bumped my shoulder against the doorway upon entering the hallway. Cyborg, who was still in front of me, didn't seem to notice or care and kept going. This was fortunate for me because in response to bumping into the doorway, I wound up tripping over myself and stumbling awkwardly for a moment before I could continue my stride after him.

_Come on, Fernando! Pull it together! You're just walking down the hall_, I scolded to myself in reference to me quite literally throwing my weight around. I was already both tall and large, and therefore constantly conscious and aware of how others looked at me or how I presented myself, but it didn't help that I sometimes had the tendency to be a socially awkward clutz. I just needed to focus on keeping my cool and simply walking down a hallway. _Easy, right?_

Unfortunately it wasn't so easy. I couldn't get over how I had to almost die to ask for help or answers on why I was going to die later. I couldn't get over how I had to find a way to help find and rescue the three missing Elementals before my time was up so Andre's rule can have a fighting chance in the battle to come. I couldn't get over my extended family and how I had to both make sure they were safe, and figure out what approach would be best with notifying them about my death, if at all. And lastly, I couldn't get over how little time I had left with Raven.

And as if that wasn't driving my brain crazy already, it was at that moment I heard Cyborg ahead of me mutter something. I ignored it because his voice was kinda low. My mind was wandering for about the umpteenth time so I couldn't catch what he said nor was I in any position to pay attention. Despite not knowing what he said I could at least tell from tone and "direction" of his voice that Cyborg wasn't talking to me, and as far I knew at the moment, we were the only two people in the hallway which at the time led me to believe that he was muttering to himself. I soon found out however that there was in fact another person in the hallway with us at the time, and that Cyborg had said, "excuse me" to that person because they were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. And since I wasn't really paying attention to anything (in addition to my mind wandering, I also had my head down, and my eyes, although zoning out, were looking towards the floor), I wound up bumping into them, and by "them", I meant Raven.

As I bumped into her, the world slowed down again. I looked up and saw Raven still in the process of looking up at me after we collided. I could see the book she was holding falling to the floor. I could also see the page she was on prior to dropping it based on the page numbers I saw as the covers started to close and the neighboring pages began to flip. I then blink my eyes, as if to shake off the feeling of being stunned, and the world returns to normal, as indicated by the sound of the book finally hitting on the ground.

"Sorry", said Raven simply as she then lowered herself to the floor to retrieve her book.

"No, no, it was my bad. I was zoned out", I said as I followed her to the floor. I then impulsively reach out to grab the book. As I did so, my hand bumped into hers as she reached for the book as well.

"Oh, sorry", we both said at the same time as we pulled our hands away. When neither of us reached for the book again, we both reached for it, again at the same time. Our hands bump into each other again when we both repeated, "sorry". However, upon pulling our hands away from each other, my hand grazed upon the back of her hand. Normally this wouldn't have been so bad, Hell, a large part of me was tempted to deliberately slow my hand down so I could savor the feeling of my skin touching hers. However, the moment was short-lived because I wound up accidentally scratching her.

She pulls her hand away sharply as she winces. Upon seeing and hearing her do so, I look down at my hand. My nails were long, and some of them, jagged. Hell, on my right hand alone, I had three nails that were chipped. I look back up at Raven and her hand. I didn't scratch it enough to leave a mark, other than that light, white, ashy mark that comes from your skin being scratched. Still, I felt guilty and embarrassed for having scratched her none-the-less.

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, sorry", I said bashfully hoping that my nails weren't a deal breaker. I then reached back out and grabbed the book preparing to hand it back to her.

"It's just a scratch. No need to apologize", she said with a small grin. I grin back as I reach forward about to hand her back her book. I held it by my fingertips, in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of scratching her again. It was at that moment I noticed the dark brown cover of the book, and the title. She commented on the book as she took it from me. I guess it was in response to my staring at it.

"It's from my place of birth", she said sort of bashfully as she pulled the book into herself and wrapped her left arm around it. "It's called…."

"The Book of Azar", I interrupted. A small look of surprise then appeared on her face. At first I thought it might've been because I interrupted her, but based on what she said afterwards, I soon decided not.

"You can read Azaranian?"

"Azaranian? What's that?" Raven then takes the book and presents the front cover to me.

"This is Azaranian", she said as she pointed at the title, which still read, "The Book of Azar".

"Um, no. That would be English." Raven then places the book on the floor and opens up to one of the first few pages. She then points her index and middle fingers on her right hand towards the book and chants her spell.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she says calmly as she surrounds the book in her aura. She then uses her fingers like a wand and lifts the book into the air, as if she was Hermione Granger practicing the levitation spell on a feather. She then lowers the book back to the ground and turns it to me. "Now you try", she said as she pointed at a sentence of text on one of the pages. I look up at her for a moment, confused as to what was going on, and I had a couple of reasons to be confused.

For one, I was confused as to why I was doing what I was doing. This conversation somehow went from confusing English for some new language called Azaranian, to me casting a levitation spell. Another thing that had me confused was that, although she usually coined the mantra by heart, when she casted her spell, she was looking at the pages as if she was reading the words, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" right off of the page. Assuming she had, what she read and what she pointed to me were two completely different things. The section of text she pointed to was not her usual mantra, and she didn't turn a page when she faced the book to me.

After pausing for a moment, I came to the realization that she wanted me to lift the book just as she did. Once I did, I surrounded the book with my aura and lifted the book, and then lowered it to the ground, but did so without speaking, or moving my arms, hands, or fingers. I didn't need to.

"Good. Now try it like this", said Raven as she reached out and adjusted my hand to where my index and middle fingers were pointing. Normally I would freak out or try to pull my hand away or something, but in all honesty I was frozen because all I was concerned about was hoping I didn't scratch her again. When she had finished positioning my fingers, she leaned back and said, "and read this aloud", as she pointed to the text again.

"But that's not what you read. I mean, that's not what it says".

"Then show me what it says. What do you read when you see these words?" It was then that I realized what was going on. According to Raven, this book was written in Azaranian, which was all well and good. However, it appeared that not only can I read Azaranian, to the point where the language looked like plain, old English in my eyes, despite never hearing, reading, or ever having heard of the language prior to discovering this book, but some of the text says something different to me, than it does to Raven, who I assumed was an Azaranian.

Having finally understood why Raven was asking me to do the things she wanted me to do, I take a deep breath and point my fingers to the book as I read aloud.

"Atlantis Auroros Motom", I said as the book once again became surrounded by my aura. I then lifted the book into the air and floated it over towards Raven. I then lowered it to her as she stuck her hands out to catch it. When she held the book in her hands again, I broke my connection and paused to reflect on what just happened. I had just read a language I didn't know existed, read a sentence that was different then what everyone else read, and I casted a spell that I didn't even know I could do. I was about to question Raven on what had just happened when Cyborg walked over to us.

"I hate to interrupt, but when you're done playing with books, I'd really like to talk to you, Wolfman", said a slightly impatient Cyborg as he held up the black credit card in his fingers. I had forgotten that he was standing nearby.

"Oh, my bad, Cyborg", I responded.

"What are you guys even doing?" Upon hearing the metal man ask that, I felt I had to confirm something.

"Hey, Cy, come have a look at this", I said as I gently positioned the book in Raven's hands so that Cyborg could see, mentally kicking myself for having man-handled Raven again. Using Raven's hand as a bookmark, I then close the book and point to the text on the front cover. "What does this say", I asked him.

"Uh, 'The Book of Azar'?" Hopeful after hearing him read it correctly, I open the book back to the page Raven was keeping marked and pointed to the text Raven and I read.

"And this?"

"Hmmmm. Scratch, scratch, chicken scratch, words, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah, and more words", he said sarcastically while at the same time holding back a cheeky grin. His response made it clear to me that he was aware that the book was called, "The Book of Azar" due to Raven probably mentioning it in the past, and not because he could read the title. He and I then look over at Raven who wasn't as amused as he was, probably from the fact that he was making fun of her language. "No offense, Rae", he began as he moved his hands in a sort of "jazz hands" fashion. "I just can't read or understand Azaranian. Hell, I'm barely keeping up with Tamaranian."

"You speak Tamaranian", I asked in suspicion.

"Koriand'r schlectna rowarknof", he replied. I look over at Raven for translation, but she simply shrugged having no idea what he said.

"Well okay then", I responded as I had no idea how to respond to whatever it was he said. Raven then closes the book and rises back to her feet.

"I think I'll let you two get back to what you were doing", she said as she begins to walk past me down the hall. Just as she was about to pass me she looks me dead in the eye. I open my mouth to say something, but once again, nothing comes out. Meanwhile, I'm getting lost in her eyes for about the millionth time. My right hand instinctively gives her my signature "peace pistol" gesture (it's like my signature "hello" and "goodbye" wave. It's when I use my thumb, index, and middle fingers as if I were pretending to wield a gun, but parting my index and middle fingers as if making the "peace" sign, and then sort of flicking my wrist kinda like as if I were tipping my hat) as she passes, but stays frozen in the air as she walks away with her back turned to me. When she opens the door to her room, she hesitates just as she did before and looks back over to me, my body still frozen in place unable to move. She then smiles back at me and then disappears as the door closes behind her. Even after she was gone, I stood there frozen for about another minute or so. As I stood there, I glanced over at my nails on my right hand as I thought to myself, _I should probably cut these_. It was around that moment when Cyborg placed his hand on my shoulder again, and again, made me jump.

"Jesus! Stop doing that", I exclaimed at him.

"Chill, dude! Why are you so jumpy today?"

"I'm not jumpy and I am chill! I'm as chill as a cucumber!"

"Could've fooled me." It was at that moment I realized how defensive I must've sounded, especially since I had raised my voice.

"*Clears throat, yes, well um, you said we needed to set up something", I asked trying to change the subject.

"That depends, are you easily distracted by anything else?"

"Ha ha", I said sarcastically. Cyborg responds with a grin, and then turns back down the hall. Being more alert and calm than I was before, I follow close behind.

When we got to the end of the hall, we turned right and passed through the hall that led to the main room on our right. As we passed, I looked over and saw Beast Boy trying to teach Starfire how to play a video game. I couldn't tell what game it was they were playing, but I knew it was a one-on-one fighting game.

_Wonder where Robin is_, I thought to myself after we had passed to the other side of the doorway and continued to the opposite end of the hall. It was at that moment that I realized that I had not yet been to that side of the building yet, and for some reason, it was enough to make me a bit nervous.

Once we reached the end of the hall, we turned right. Once there, I noticed that this hallway mirrored the one on the other side. Whereas the other hall had three doors on the left wall (Beast Boy's room, Raven's room, and the bathrooms), this hall had four doors on the right wall. As I followed Cyborg down the hall, I look at each door and the words written on them. The first door said, "Robin". I remembered my ears twitching as we passed as I was hearing what sounded like typing coming from behind the closed door.

_Found him_, I thought to myself in reference to my previous thought. The door next to his was to Starfire's room. _Note to self, stay as _far_ away from this door as possible._ The third door is the one that really grabbed my attention. As I passed, I noticed that the word on it read, "Terra".

"Hey, Cy? Who's Terra", I asked as I stopped and pointed at the door. Cyborg immediately dodges the question as he walks back up to me, wraps his arm across my shoulder and leads me to the next door.

"My room's this way." I took his hint immediately. It hardly took a genius to realize that he didn't want to talk about it. It was obvious that there was, at one time, a sixth Titan that lived in this tower before I did, and it was obvious that for whatever reason, they were no longer around, so I didn't pry. After that, just as he said, we approached the fourth door which led to Cyborg's room. "Come on in", he said as the door opened and he walked inside. As I walked in behind him, I remember feeling like I had just walked into a laboratory. The first thing I saw, directly across from the doorway against the opposite wall, was flat steel table-like surface that was propped up by a thick metal stand. It was elevated at a diagonal, and at the bottom of the table were two, for lack of a better word, fork-like plates, like the whole thing was structured from either a fork-lift or a dolly. It took me a minute, but I soon realized that the two fork-lift plates were for Cyborg's feet, and that the structure itself acted as Cyborg's bed.

Directly next to his bed was a small computer that stood on a stand similar to that of a music stand, though it was connected to it and not simply balanced on it. In the center of the room, was an actual dolly, except that in had a computer-like system built into it to where it looked like a giant amplifier for an electric guitar. The entire right wall of Cyborg's room was nothing but computers, with the only exceptions being the small stove and fridge at the end of the wall closest to his bed, and the long counter-top that stretched underneath the computers. As I stared at the wall of computers in awe, Cyborg then opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of apple juice.

"Want one", he asks as he looks back at me with the bottle in his hand.

"Uh, sure", I respond hesitantly. I didn't really want it, but I didn't want to come off as rude either. Cyborg then tosses me the bottle before returning to the fridge for his own bottle. He then closes the fridge and walks over to the left side of his room.

In the far corner, was yet another computer, but it was a personal computer that sat at a desk. Cyborg had one chair at his desk, whose back faced the far wall, but had two other chairs along the left wall for guests.

"Pull up a chair while I get this process started", suggested Cyborg as he pops open his bottle of juice as he sits at his desk.

"Sure", I respond weakly as my attention was focused on exploring his room. Everything was all computers and data except for a bookshelf that sat directly to the left of the doorway. The bookshelf consisted of three sections, all three of which had a large assortment of miscellaneous books. The top section had books lined up from left to right with little to no empty space, while the other two sections had books sort of just thrown in. The middle section's books were divided with some books on the far left, and the rest on the far right, with a big gap in between. The books on the bottom shelf was simply a small pile consisting of four books stacked on top of each other in the center of the shelf.

Above the bookshelf was a mirror that hung on the wall. Nothing too special about it, it was just a mirror. Next to the mirror, also hanging from the wall, was a little string puppet of Cyborg, complete with a little blinking red eye.

_Not sure if vanity, or he's got himself a dedicated fan out there somewhere_, I thought to myself as I examined the doll in my hands. Below the mirror, on the top of the bookshelf were three other items. On the far left was a sort of peg-like pedestal that had a baseball on it. I look back behind me for a moment to see if Cyborg was watching me. When I felt he wasn't I turn back to the baseball and lean forward towards it so I could examine the scent. I let out a huge sneeze in response to inhaling a large breath of dust from the baseball, which gave me a clue as to how long Cyborg had been holding on to it. Next to the baseball, in the center, was an old title-less book. It had a dark brown cover, with yellow borders and designs on it. It too, looked like it was aged for several years, to the point where it looked similar to Raven's Book of Azar from earlier.

I was about to open the book and explore further when I noticed the third item on the far right. It was a framed picture of Cyborg and Robin. The picture showed Robin in a heroic yet silly pose, as if he were just some average Joe pretending to be a hero, with Cyborg standing behind him. Cyborg is also leaned more towards Robin's left as he has his left hand making the peace sign, while his right hand rests on Robin's head with his fingers in his hair like an older brother would do to his younger brother.

_He really does have a strong connection with Robin_, I thought to myself as I looked at the framed photo. It was clear that based on the photo, and what Cyborg mentioned before about trusting Robin's judgement, that these two truly did look at each other like brothers. It was then that I thought of my own older brothers. _Nathaniel__, Seth, Dakota, Manny, I miss you guys._ Much like my sisters, my brothers meant the world to me, and I was extremely proud of them all. As I stood there missing my brothers in Cyborg's room, Nathaniel and Dakota were both happily married men, one being a successful mechanic with his own business, and the other an Airman in the US Air Force. As for the other two, Manny was studying to become a teacher, and Seth was in medical school to become a nurse. I remember thinking to myself_, what have I done? What accomplishments have I made since high school?_

I lose my train of thought again as I notice what looked like battle armor off in the corner of Cyborg's room, between the bookshelf and the spare chairs. I walk over to examine closer, only to discover that it was indeed battle armor, only it was made of stone, and it had the symbol of a crescent moon carved out of the chest. I didn't really know how to describe it further other than to say it looked samurai-ish, to the point where it came with a sword, that rested on its own pedestal in front of the armor. The only thing that looked out of place in terms of looking samurai-ish was the metal shield that hung on the back of the armor, which looked more like it was from medieval Europe. I chuckle to myself feeling impressed as I look back at Cyborg, still busy at his computer, and think, _Cyborg the Barbarian_.

Having felt like I thoroughly searched his room, I lean against the wall between the armor and the chairs waited for Cyborg to finish whatever it was he was doing. I was just about to take a drink from my apple juice bottle when I noticed another small computer on the other side of the room that sat directly to the right of the doorway, almost as if it was hiding. At first I wasn't too impressed or interested in it, as it was just one of many computers in the one room, but from where I was, I could see what looked like a black wolf on the computer screen.

_Wait a sec, what's that_, I asked myself, now curious as to what was on the screen. With Cyborg still busy at his desk, I walk back over to that side of the room and investigate the computer.

Onscreen was an unfinished document template. It had a large square off to the left for the user to put a picture in, and the rest of the document was all bullet points and lines for the user to type in information. "_Name: Unknown"_, I began as I read to myself. "_Codename: Wolfman. Date of Birth: Unknown. Hometown: Unknown. Species: Mutant. Sub-Species: Werewolf. Abilities: Lycanthropy, Shapeshifting, Multiplication, Static Electricity. Class: Level 5". Looks like someone's been keeping tabs on me, though not very complete ones._ It was then that I noticed the picture in the square that went with the document. It was a black wolf yes, but it wasn't me. In fact it wasn't even a werewolf, just an ordinary black timber wolf. _Guess I haven't given him enough details to finish my profile. Hmmmm, I wonder…._, I thought to myself as I came up with a sneaky idea. I was curious to see if there was profile information on the other Titans.

I look back again to see if Cyborg was watching me. When I discovered he wasn't, I minimized the document, and noticed that the computer had a sort of search engine for all of its files and data. I then placed my apple juice bottle on the nearby counter and typed in the letters C-Y-B-O-R-G. The computer then pulls up a completed document template with Cyborg's information on it, complete with a picture of Cyborg pointing one of his cannon arms at the camera as if preparing to fire. "_Name: Victor Stone. Codename: Cyborg. Date of Birth: March 19th, 1995". Note to self, that's in ten days. "Hometown: Jump City, California. Species: Human. Sub-Species: Cyborg". Guess there's really no way to sugarcoat that. "Abilities: Cybernetic Weapons including proton cannons and missiles". Jesus! I bet Obama would have a field day with you if that ban on guns gets passed. "Class: N/A". Very interesting. So who else is on here?_

I then typed in the letters R-O-B-I-N. The computer then posts a banner message in the center of the screen, while simultaneously filling the empty screen space with countless little red "x"'s. The message read "Data Classified".

_Is that so_, I ask myself as if to say, "challenge accepted". However, I doubt I had the time or skills to hack the system to override the data lock, so instead I did the next best thing. _Since Cyborg doesn't want to talk about it_, I thought to myself as I typed in the letters T-E-R-R-A. Considering that Robin's data was blocked, I was a little surprised to see that Terra's was accessible considering how Cyborg dodged my mentioning of her. I was a little disappointed however to discover that there was no picture of her. _Let's see here. "Name: Unknown. Codename: Terra. Date of Birth: Unknown. Hometown: Unknown. Species: Mutant: Sub-Species: Elemental". Pffft, yeah, right. "Abilities: Terrakinesis". So she's an earth-bender. Huh, "Elemental". Put her in the ring with Taiyo and then we'll talk. "Class: Level 4". Well that's all well and good, but it doesn't tell me a whole lot about who she is, where she came from, or where she's gone. How do I find out more?_ Upon referencing my quest for knowledge on the Titans, I finally gave in to my inner thoughts. I tried to post-pone it, because a large part of me wanted to earn my knowledge and learn from her directly, but I couldn't resist. I gave in and typed in the letters R-A-V-E-N. The document that popped up featured a picture of Raven reading a book, like someone had stolen her picture when she wasn't paying attention.

_Y__ou're just too cute for words_, I thought to myself as I looked at how intense her eyes were as she was lost in her book. I then began to read Raven's profile. "_Name: Unknown. Codename: Raven. Date of Birth: February 6th, 1996". Dammit! I missed it! "Hometown: Azarath". Wherever the Hell that is. "Species: Mutant". So she _is _a mutant._ Before I could read any further, Cyborg spoke and gave me another jump scare.

"Whatcha dooooin'?"

"You know, somebody oughtta put a bell on you", I said sarcastically as I placed my right hand over my heart struggling to catch my breath.

"Yeah, yeah, Scaredy Cat. Come on, it's your turn", said Cyborg as he reached around me and turned off the monitor to the computer.

_So close_, I thought to myself, disappointed that I only got about halfway through Raven's data. Cyborg then leads me to his desk. I hesitate for a moment when he sits back down in his chair as I was unsure as to whether or not I should hover over him. Fortunately for me, he answered my question before I had to ask it.

"Pull up a chair", repeated Cyborg as he turned his computer screen to the other side of his desk so that I could see it. He also pushed his keyboard to the other side so that I could use it. As instructed I grabbed one of the two spare chairs and sat down at the keyboard.

On the screen was what looked like a list of security questions. The screen told me to pick five of them. They were all so detailed and wordy that I just randomly picked five with my eyes closed and then clicked the "next" button at the bottom of the screen. It was then that one of the five questions I selected reappeared on the screen. There was also a little symbol towards the top that said, "Page 1/6", which told me that I had to answer the other security questions on the following pages. The first question I chose said, "type in an 8-number pin code". It was then that my mind wandered again and I started thinking about Raven and the information I just read on her.

_I've got it_, I thought to myself once I thought up a pin code. I then typed in the numbers 02061996. _Nah, too obvious_, I thought as I hit the "backspace" button on the keyboard. I then rearranged the numbers to 00126699. _There we go, more discrete._

The next question asked me to create a password. Again, thinking about Raven, I typed in the letters A-U-R-O-R-O-S. The next question asked me to list my favorite musician. This was an easy one for me to answer. This singer had the most songs on my iPod and I was a fan of hers ever since I was a young pup. Hell, back when Hit Clips were a thing, at least for us 90's kids, she was my first Hit Clip. The only downside to liking her music was that it was usually embarrassing to admit that she was my favorite singer, especially with me being a 6'1 black male. It was because of this that very few people knew about my being a fan of hers, and her music became my sort of secret guilty pleasure.

_Good thing this is a password_, I thought to myself as I typed in the words, "Britney Spears". The next question was a weird one. Below the question were a large assortment of random pictures, and I mean random. Nothing about these pictures of everyday things were in any way, shape, or form, related to each other. There was no theme, relevance, or anything. The question asked me to pick three of them. _Because why not?_ The first one I picked was a picture of a pig, which in all honesty I did because it was the only picture of an animal among all of my choices. For a sort of "coolness" factor, I also chose a picture of a fireball. _Eh, Krystie likes roses_, I thought to myself as I picked my third picture, which was that of a single red rose as I thought of my little sister. And finally, was the fifth and final question. "What are the first names of your youngest brother, sister, and cousin (for all that apply)?".

_Oddly specific, but still easy_, I thought to myself as I typed in the names, "Ximenez", "Kalynn", and "Keira". _And there, I'm done_, I thought as I clicked the "next" button. I groaned to myself when the last page, which I assumed was going to be a confirmation page, had one more secret question on it.

"In the event of emergency or crisis, who can you call upon for assistance?". This was another strangely worded one. It sounded like something parents and students filled out on permission slips for school field trips, but there were no little spaces asking for contact information or anything of that sort. It just wanted me to list people's names. This led me to believe that I should just write first names just as I did for the previous question, but a part of me still wanted to take it seriously. With that said, I wanted to keep my siblings and cousins off of this list, because if this was a sort of emergency contact list, I didn't want my immediate help to rely on this, and that was assuming that during a worst-case scenario that anyone would even need to look back at this. With all of that said, I knew exactly who I would list. In all of my travels as a military brat, and all of the people I'd met, fought, befriended, and in some cases trained, there were five young women (four mutants and a human) that I grew to love almost as much as I did my sisters and cousins.

The first was Maria Beaulieu. A sweet animagus tigress that I met in Orlando back in 2011. She was a guest speaker at the National Keystone Conference. I had bumped into her during a one-day only "Tango" class and she was my dance partner. I remember feeling nervous when I first met her for several reasons. The first was her status, the second was the fact that she was female, the third was that she was a human at the time, the fourth was that she was older than I was, and the fifth, though I am ashamed today to admit it, was because she had a lazy eye, which made it difficult to talk to her sometimes. Despite all of that, I got to talking to her and we became really good friends, and that friendship only got stronger after she was mutated.

The second person I listed was also an animagus jungle cat. A young ginger cheetah named Kelsey Gray. A highly hyperactive short chick that loved dancing, parties, and laughing. She's just a great energy to be around, and her naturally hyperactive attitude came in real handy on the battlefield where ferocity counted the most. She was sweet as a kitten to her friends and loved ones, but a dangerous predator to those she saw as a threat. Kelsey has always been one of my very best friends.

The third young lady I mentioned was named Belle Dillon. She was an animagus king cobra, though she preferred to be called a queen cobra. I remembered how much I used to playfully tease her for being an independent bookworm, much like the Disney princess who shared the same name. Belle marched to her own beat and didn't care to take shit from anybody. My only real complaint I've ever had with her was that she never saw herself as anything of beauty, which if you ever saw her, you'd think is quite false. She had long strawberry-blonde hair, a cute pair of glasses, and a pear-shaped figure. Between that and her mutation, she was quite literally what you would call "toxic".

_Ha! That should totally be her theme song_, I chuckled to myself in reference to the Britney Spears song. The fourth person I listed was an animagus fruit bat named Arzu Fowler, but everyone calls her by her middle name, Melody. I remember thinking about how ironically appropriate her mutation was for her when she first was mutated. Melanie could be dangerous when necessary, but was naturally docile and kept to herself. It was also fitting for her because her newly acquired talents for echo location only amplified her natural singing talents and desires. Her echo radar and ability to fly were always handy little tools in battle, making her an excellent ally to have.

The last person I listed was a young human female named Grace Wilson, but I called her Amazing Grace. It was a fitting nickname for her for several reasons. She was brought up as a church girl with a love for singing and music in general. But she was also amazing because she was kind, generous, most helpful to others, extremely loyal, and loving. Not to mention the fact that she to this day has the most contagious laugh I have ever seen. Whenever Grace laughed, her face turned tomato red, as if she temporarily forgets how to breathe when she laughs. No joke was too silly or too dumb for her, she would crack up at almost anything, and though this could be annoying with some people, I loved every second of it. It was impossible to witness Grace laughing without laughing yourself.

_I miss them, too_, I thought to myself as I remembered those five young women. Maybe I'll see them again, before my time is up. My thoughts were interrupted again when Cyborg broke the silence.

"You all set?"

"Uh, yeah", I said as I clicked the "next" button one more time. After I did, the screen turned black and a bunch of green texts of data began to type out on the screen.

"I'll take it from here", said Cyborg as he turned the monitor back to him and took back his keyboard. "You certainly took your sweet time in answering those questions."

"You're the one who had me answering all those strangely-worded questions."

"Strangely-worded how?"

"Like naming the youngest siblings and cousins I have?"

"Hahaha, you were truthful with those? No wonder you were taking your time, I made up names for mine."

_Nice going, Fernando_, I thought to myself for having over-thought the majority of those six questions. A few moments later, Cyborg takes the blank credit card and inserts it into his computer. I then notice a little green light pointed at me from the top of his computer.

"Smile", he said. I then instinctively smile and sit up straight, scared that I'd end up with a crappy mugshot. "Thank you", he said after the camera flashed. The computer let out a weird buzzing sound as it spit out the credit card. "And we're done", he said as he handed me the credit card. On the front, printed in a gold text, were the words, "Wolfman - Teen Titans". On the back was my credit card number, and the picture Cyborg had just taken of me.

"What is this to", I asked in reference to the fact that I had no money to my name, let alone an account to put any in.

"It's to your new bank account, the one you just set up. Just use your communicator to check it out. Like this", said Cyborg as he pulls out a blue card that read, "Cyborg - Teen Titans", and scans it with his communicator. I then pull out my communicator and imitate his movements.

"Cool", I said as my account info was being pulled up. I then became shocked once I realized how much money was already in it. "Whoa! I have _that_ much already?"

"That ain't no thing. You get more when our next monthly paycheck rolls around."

"Paycheck?"

"Yeah. Being a hero ain't cheap. We get paid for it. Then half of it goes to the tower, and the other half is evenly divided among the six of us."

"So you're telling me that once a month I'm going to get 1/12th of a paycheck, and it'll still be more money than what I've already got in here", I ask as I point at my communicator.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Huh. That explains how y'all have been doing this for so long." It was at that moment that Cyborg's door opened.

"Is he all set", asked Robin to Cyborg as he pulls out a red credit card. The color pattern was once again obvious.

"He just finished."

"Good, now we're all set to go", he said as he turned and walked down the hall.

"Sweet! I needed some new parts anyway", said Cyborg as he stood up and walked towards the exit.

"All set to go where? Where are we going", I asked him.

"Where else? To the mall", he said as he disappeared down the hall.

"Hey! Wait for me", I exclaimed as I shot out of my seat, Changed into my wolf form, and sprinted after him.


	19. To the Mall

I followed Cyborg and Robin back to the main living room, which I later found out was referred to as the Ops Room. Once we arrived, the girls were already there waiting for us. Raven was once again seated with her face in a book. Starfire was watching television. I don't know what the Hell she was watching, but all I know is that when I looked at the screen, I saw a butcher slaughtering a live pig. I don't really know why, but something about the way humans killed animals tended to make me sick, especially since I could hear and translate the pig's dying cries. Starfire for whatever reason just kept watching.

"Y'all ready to…. ah, come on, Star", began Cyborg. "Not that documentary again."

"Forgive me", began Starfire as she turned off the t.v.. "I had forgotten how much you disliked that program."

"And that program was what exactly", I asked, still suspicious on how she was able to watch that without her stomach being in knots.

"It's a documentary on how hotdogs are made", said Cyborg. "For some reason it's her favorite thing to watch, second to her other favorite show, "The Incredible World of Fungus"."

"Yeah, forget I asked."

"Excuse me, but there is nothing wrong with my programs! As you can see, even Raven has no complaints about either of them", said Starfire as she motioned towards Raven, still lost in her book.

"Probably because everything is dark and disturbing with her", said Cyborg jokingly as he wiggled his fingers as if to indicate dark magic or voodoo.

"Probably more like she's just tuning it out", I suggested sarcastically as I noticed that Raven had no reaction or movement in response to us directly talking about her.

"Nonsense. Observe", said Starfire as she floats over to Raven. "Raven, perhaps you could shed some light on what was learned today about Brazilian trees and what grows underneath." Raven just kept staring at her book.

"Ten bucks says she's asleep with her eyes open", said Cyborg.

"Ten bucks says she's not", I responded.

"Bet on it then", he said as he offered me his right hand.

"Deal", I respond as I rose to my hind legs and grasped his hand with my paw.

"You gamble", asked Robin.

"It's not a gamble when you know you're going to win".

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Be ready to pay up", challenged Cyborg.

"Raven", asked Starfire as she poked the top of Raven's head. "Raven", she asked again a little louder as she waved her hand in front of her face. Both times, Raven just continued to stare at her book. Starfire then takes a deep breath. "RAVEN", she shouts upon exhale as Cyborg, Robin, and I all cover our ears and wince. Starfire's scream was so loud and piercing that I instinctively let out a howl.

"As if Starfire wasn't being loud enough. What's with the howl", asked Cyborg as he bonked me on the head.

"It's not my fault Starfire screams like a dog whistle", I responded defensively.

"Speaking of dog whistles, Raven doesn't seem to be phased", said Robin, pulling us back to the matter at hand.

"I do not understand. Why does she not respond? Have I done something to upset her", asked a now concerned Starfire.

"That screaming was kinda upsetting", muttered Cyborg under his breath. Upon hearing him say that I nudged him with my elbow, which honestly shocked the both of us. I wasn't expecting to have defended Starfire the way I did.

"I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong", said Robin as he tried to comfort Starfire.

"Then why does she not answer me?"

"Actually I don't think she's answering anybody", I said trying to be nice to Starfire for once.

"I'm telling you guys, she's asleep."

"Is it normal for Earthlings to sleep with such posture", asked Starfire. Robin and I responded by simply shaking our heads.

"Well then what else could explain why she hasn't moved in like five minutes", asked Cyborg. Raven then shocks everybody by licking her right thumb and index finger before turning the page of her book. Once she did, she folded the corner of the new page and closed the book.

"See these things, in my ears", asked a slightly irritated Raven as she placed the book in her lap and points her two index fingers at her ears. "They are called ear plugs, and are designed to block out sound." Raven then uses her dark powers to pull the ear plugs out of her ears, which was when I noticed that each one was cloaked in her aura, which explained why a mere set of ear plugs managed to block out _that_ much sound. "Now start over", demanded Raven. The four of us all groaned and facepalmed in response for having been stumped on such an obvious answer. "Did I miss something?"

"Nothing, Raven", said Robin. "Just a bit of miscommunication."

"Yeah, and I owe the new guy ten bucks", said a slightly disappointed Cyborg.

"Cash only, please", I responded with a cheeky grin. I could hear Cyborg growling to himself in response, which caused me to snicker a bit.

"Now that that matter is settled, what do you guys say we get going", suggested Robin.

"We cannot yet", said Starfire.

"Why not?"

"She's right", I responded as I looked around the room. "Aren't there supposed to be six of us", I asked in reference to the fact that Beast Boy wasn't in the room.

"I knew it was a bit too quiet in here", said Raven.

"Says the girl with the suped-up ear plugs", responded Cyborg.

"Have no fear, Beast Boy is here", says Beast Boy as he bursts into the room with his arms out as if expecting a roaring crowd of fans. The rest of us all just kinda stare at him in awkward silence. "You guys can't let me have nothing, can you", asked Beast Boy in his EAC face.

"Wonderful! Now we may proceed to the mall of shopping", said an excited Starfire.

"Race you guys to the elevators", said Beast Boy as he then runs out of the room. Starfire and Raven made quick work flying after him with Robin, Cyborg, and I running behind them. We got to the elevators to find Beast Boy with several plastic grocery bags in his arms. "Can one of you guys push the button. My arms are kinda full." The rest of us maneuver our way around Beast Boy to get closer to the door as Cyborg pushes the down button. Once the doors opened, everyone except Beast Boy rushed in. Looking into the elevator, I stood in the back right corner (I had Changed back to my human form at this point). Raven stood in front of me, Robin stood next to me, Cyborg stood next to him, and Starfire originally stood in front of Robin, but quickly moved to her right in front of Cyborg as Beast Boy backed into the elevator.

The elevator itself wasn't very big. It was a bit of a tight fit for all six of us on a normal day, so I knew that having Beast Boy with all of those bags would only make the ride more uncomfortable. As Beast Boy backed his way further and further into the elevator, the rest of us all tried to back up further instinctively. Since I was backed into the corner and therefore had nowhere to go, eventually Raven backed into me. Once she bumped into me, my hands instinctively reach for her hips. They touch them briefly, but then are yanked away by me once I realized what I'd done.

_Jesus, Fernando! Hands to yourself!_ Scared and hoping that neither Raven or any of the other Titans noticed me touching her, I decided to Change. Once the Change was complete, I found myself crawling along the back wall of the elevator. My already nearly perfect eyesight instantly quadrupled in strength as I was seeing through eight red eyes as opposed to my usual two eyes. In this form, I had eight, sticky legs, a relatively round body, and was only about two inches long. _It__'__s been a while since Arachnimon came out to play_, I thought to myself as I took advantage of my situation to stretch my legs.

With my body having shrunk quite considerably, there was now plenty of room for the other Titans to rearrange themselves comfortably. Once we were all in place, Starfire pushes the button for the garage and the doors close. As we rode down, a part of me was shocked that neither Robin nor Raven who could both clearly see that I Changed said nothing in response. Then again, the two of them witnessed me grow four extra arms when we fought the H.I.V.E. Five. It was at that moment that I heard Cyborg cry out.

"Yo! Is that a Black Widow", asked a startled Cyborg as he pointed towards me (despite my being a male black widow, I had the size and coloring of a female for some reason). Cyborg then draws his hand back as he prepares to strike at me.

_Oh shit_, I thought to myself. I had forgotten that he was unconscious when I fought the H.I.V.E. Five.

"Cyborg, wait", began Raven as she tried to explain that I had simply Changed. I turned towards Raven as she began to speak, and because I did, I wasn't prepared to dodge Cyborg's attack. The force of his hand crushing me against the wall was more than enough to make me lose my grip and fall to the floor onto my back.

"Did anybody get the license plate on that rhino", I groaned after my landing.

"You okay", asked Robin as he looked down at me. Raven then turns around and squats down towards me. She then uses her index finger to gently roll me off of my back and back onto my feet.

"Yeah, I'm okay", I said dizzily as I shook my head. I then noticed Raven cup her hands and place them on the floor. I hesitated at her gesture for a moment, but got confirmation from her when she nodded and motioned towards her hands. She was letting me climb onto her hands so she could lift me up. That alone earned her some brownie points in my book. Half the time my own sisters hated it when I crawled over any part of their bodies in my spider form.

After I happily accepted her invitation, Raven lifts me up to the others. I noticed that the others, except Robin, all kinda had weird looks on their faces, almost like they'd never seen a spider before.

"This isn't going to be a problem, is it", I asked.

"Is that you in there", asked Cyborg as he leaned in extremely close to me in Raven's hands. In fact he was _way_ too close for my taste. Without thinking I instinctively spit a web into his face.

"Blegh", exclaimed Cyborg as he began spitting in disgust. "It got in my mouth!"

"And for the record I want a 50% interest", I said to him.

"Man, you'll be lucky if I don't whip out the bug spray."

"Bug spray? Really, dude", I asked as I crossed my two front legs as if I were in human form crossing my arms. Raven responds to my action by chuckling a little to herself quietly. I then noticed a small look of shock on Cyborg's face, which told me that he heard her laughing, too, but before he could say anything, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Once that happened, Beast Boy immediately sprinted out of the elevator and made a break for the T-Car.

"Must, get, to, car", panted Beast Boy as he desperately tried to get to the car before his arms gave out from exhaustion. I could tell he was determined to not make a second trip or place any of the bags down. This became extremely noticeable when he morphed into a gorilla. He was too impatient to wait for somebody to open the car door for him, as was shown when he opened the door for himself via opposable toes. Once he got the door opened, he immediately threw the bags onto the back seat. He then let out a large sigh of relief as he returned to his human form.

"What's even in those bags", I asked him.

"It's my dry cleaning."

"More like your dirty laundry", said Raven (cue Beast Boy's EAC face).

"Well that's your opinion."

"My _opinion_? Who dry cleans their underwear?"

"What? It feels good", says Beast Boy as he placed his hands on his hips as if he were doing the cliched heroic pose.

"Thank you, Beast Boy, for that _lovely_ visual", I said sarcastically as I rubbed the sides of my head with two of my legs as if I were in human form rubbing my temples. I could hear Raven chuckling again, which gave me a bit of a confidence boost.

"If I could interrupt for just a moment, I'd suggest we get going", said Cyborg as he flashed his car keys.

"I call shotgun", exclaimed Robin as he rushed over to the right side of the car. Beast Boy responds to this by morphing into a cat and jumping in front of his path. Robin hesitates and stops to look down at the green feline. Beast Boy then lowers his ears and his eyes somehow got a whole lot bigger.

"I don't get it. What's he doing", I asked Raven.

"He's giving him "the face"."

"I see. I'd suggest getting Beast Boy a lawyer, 'cause I think DreamWorks is gonna sue somebody." It was a corny joke, but it got another chuckle out of Raven, so in my book it was a successful joke.

"You know, it's really not as effective the millionth time you do it", said Robin to Beast Boy as he jumps over him and continues to the passenger seat next to Cyborg. A disappointed Beast Boy responds by arching his back and hissing at Robin.

"There there, Beast Boy", began Starfire as she floated over and crouched down to meet the green cat. "You can ride with me." Beast Boy then meows happily and leaps into Starfire's arms. She responds to this by giggling and hugging the furry feline.

"I'm really not sure what there was to fight about", began Cyborg as he opened the door to the driver's seat. With all six of us having to ride with BB's laundry, it would've always had to come down to him and the new guy shrinking down to ride in the back.

_He__'__s got a point there_, I thought to myself.

"Now come on, y'all. Let's get going already", said Cyborg as he got in the car and started the engine. Starfire and Raven then start making their way to the back seats of the car, Beast Boy in Starfire's arms, and myself in Raven's hands. As Starfire focused her path on the back right seat, Raven began to walk towards the back left seat. Seeing as how I managed to already get Raven to laugh a few times that day, I saw another opportunity to show off and be a gentleman. Just before Raven got close enough to the door, I spoke out.

"Allow me", I said to her as I turned around to face her. I then leaped from her hands and landed on her right shoulder. Once I was there, I turned back to the door and pointed one of my legs at it. The door then became surrounded by my aura as I pulled my leg back towards me and the door opened. I then noticed a cool, chilly feeling rushing over my body as Raven began getting into the car. I look my body over and noticed that I was encased in a black aura, specifically Raven's aura, and it felt good. My spider body was getting goosebumps, as if she was using her aura to pet me. "You're welcome", I whispered as Raven closed the door and began buckling her seat belt. Once she got situated, she lifts her left index finger up to her right shoulder and awkwardly pets me. I didn't mind that it was awkward, she was trying to pet a spider after all. I was very content with the sole fact that she was trying to pet me despite my size or form.

"Alrighty then", said Cyborg as he opened the garage door. "To the mall."

"Teen Titans, go", exclaimed Robin in a jokingly gung ho fashion as the T-Car shot out of the garage.

The trip to the mall was slightly longer than our trip to the museum, or rather our mission at the museum. Probably because of the fact that because it wasn't an emergency, therefore Cyborg didn't have to break the speed limit. The other reason was the fact that the mall was downtown on the other side of the city. I would later find out that the trip from the tower to the mall, with traffic, and without us speeding, took about a good twenty-five, maybe thirty minutes. The entire trip was spent listening to Robin's ear-deafening rock music while an extremely talkative Starfire constantly tried to speak over it. The other three Titans were all probably used to this, but me, I was going crazy. It was because of times like these that I hated the fact that I had enhanced hearing. That ride would've been sheer Hell had it not been for Raven.

About halfway through our trip, as if she noticed I was getting irritated, Raven lifts her left hand up to her right shoulder again, but this time she cups it, offering me a ride down. I accept her invitation as I crawled from her shoulder onto her hand. She then immediately tilts her left hand towards her right hand underneath. I take the hint and leap from her left hand down to her right. Once there, I noticed her hand beginning to cup again, so I moved up towards her fingertips. Once I was there, Raven then goes on to pet me with her thumb as she lowers her hand to her lap. Since she was in a more comfortable position to pet me in, as opposed to earlier when she had to reach across her chest to do so, the attention I was getting from her thumb was just as amazing as when she was scratching my ears before. I would've been perfectly fine letting her pet me like that forever, but then I noticed something.

Throughout the course of the trip Cyborg had to take several sharp turns, which wouldn't have been so bad if Beast Boy's bags of laundry weren't a mile high. Of course I am exaggerating when I say it was a mile high, but the pile was still big enough to where the girls, if they chose to, could lean against each side to use as a giant pillow. However, considering the contents inside, it was safe to assume that they wouldn't. With that said, every time Cyborg made a turn, the pile of laundry bags would lean, and one of the girls would then be forced to push it off of them. Starfire was always perfectly prepared to do so, but because her right hand was focusing on pleasuring me, Raven had to awkwardly use her left hand to reach across herself and push the pile using only that hand. I let it slide the first two times, but after the third time, I felt I should help her out a bit.

After she pushed the pile for the third time, I slipped from under her thumb and paced around her hand in a few circles to grab her attention. Once I was sure I had her undivided attention, I crawl off of her hand and onto her lap. I hesitate for a moment to look up at her to make sure she was watching me. One could argue that it probably would've just been easier to communicate this with her had I just spoken to her, but then again, they would be viewing my relationship with Raven from the outside, and therefore have no idea how we did things. If meeting Raven and flirting with her up to that point had taught me anything, it was that actions, gestures, body language, and non-verbals in general spoke much louder than words. Besides, I was still a bit secretive about my feelings for Raven, so it was better for me if I could flirt with her without the others noticing.

Once I was certain that she was focused on me, I began to Change. I could feel my eight red eyes turning green as my body began to Change from arachnid to serpent. One moment I was a two-inch long black widow, and the next, I was a five-foot long diamondback rattlesnake, with a case of melanism. It was a bit of a large jump from Changing from a spider to a large, venomous snake, I admit, but it was the smallest animal I could Change into other than a spider, and fortunately the only other Titan that noticed my Change was Beast Boy, who by that point wasn't shocked by my snake form. I noticed that Raven's legs sort of tensed up slightly after my Change was complete, which was understandable. Not only was I now thirty times bigger than I previously was, but now I weighed about fifteen pounds, all of which sat in Raven's lap.

Before the other Titans could notice me and make a scene about it, I slither up Raven's right arm, slowly and deliberately. Once I reached her shoulder, I then begin to slither along her collar and behind her neck. I continued this path until my body was stretched across her shoulders, neck, and arms. When I felt I was in the perfect position, I scrunched and folded the coils behind her neck to make myself shorter. In doing so, my coils sort of piled up behind her head, giving her a crude pillow to rest against. I continued this until my head rested right on her left shoulder, and my tail stretched down to her right elbow.

As if someone was about to ask me why I wasn't evenly stretched across Raven's shoulders, Cyborg turns the car right and the pile of bags begins to lean into Raven. Anticipating that, I stick out my tail and push back against the toppling bags, and fortunately for me, the turn wasn't as huge as the others, so I was easily able to push all of the bags off of her using only my tail. Once I did, I used my psychic abilities to pull up Raven's hood onto her head. Beast Boy would later ask me why I did this, as he was quietly watching the two of us the whole time, and my response to him was that I did that so Raven could lean against my body, without messing up her hair.

I assumed that she appreciated my gesture, as she didn't reject or resist the fact that I moved her hood for her. She also then leaned against me, sending chills throughout my long spine. She then turns her head to the left, towards me and the window. She looks down at me out the corners of her eyes, her violet eyes locked with my green eyes. I then flick my serpent tongue at the air for a moment. There was no real reason for it other than to attempt to add a bit of a cuteness factor. It was easy to do so when I was a wolf or a lion, but as a snake, all I could do was guess. Unlike cats and dogs, snakes, and well reptiles in general, aren't typically known for being cute. Much to my surprise and my delight when Raven returned my cute gesture with a smile. She then lifts her right hand to pet me one more time before drifting off to sleep, which was perfectly fine with me for two reasons.

The first and most obvious one was because she was Raven. No guy is going to say, "no" if the girl they're crushing on falls asleep while leaning up against them. The second was that we were stuck in traffic. As long as it was going to take to drive to the mall, we still had to deal with traffic, which added to the fact that we had to drive through downtown, told us we had a few extra minutes before we got moving again, meaning I had all the more time to just sit back and listen and watch as Raven slept.

_Enjoy your power nap_, I thought to myself as I looked out the corners of my eyes to see Beast Boy, still watching us. At this point, I noticed that Robin's music had died down to some smooth jazz, and Starfire had also fallen asleep. With the girls out cold and the other guys occupied with the music and the road, this was the perfect time to have the anticipated "guy talk" Beast Boy and I were set to have. It was also fortunate for us that the two of us were in animal forms, making it the perfect way to eliminate the chances of eavesdropping.

"_I told you you two would be perfect for each other.__"_

"_Shut it, Beasssst Boy!__"_

"_Come on, dude. I__'__m not _that_ stupid. It doesn__'__t take a genius to realize that you have a thing for Raven. You might be able to fool the others, but you can__'__t fool me.__"_

"_You know, I__'__m not above eating catssss.__"_

"_Aha! Defensive!__"_

"_I am not!__"_

"_Denial.__"_

"_Alright, fine!__"_

"_Acceptance.__"_

"_Don__'__t push your luck.__"_

"_What__'__s the big deal? You like her, don__'__t you?__"_

"_Jusssst drop it, Beasssst Boy.__"_

"_But, why? Why not just tell her?__"_

"_I ssssaid to drop it!__"_ Having finally taken the hint, Beast Boy paces around in a few circles and curls up on Starfire's lap. As he began to doze off, my mind began to wander.

_He doessssn__'__t understand. How could he when he doessssn__'__t know? I don__'__t have that much time left. I ssss__till don__'__t know if I should tell her, or jusssst take my time and enjoy the flirting. And that__'__ssss just the tip of the icccceberg. Between Kendall, that dove, the woman in the white cloak, Doctor Light, Ranccccid, my mother, the Elementalssss, there__'__ssss sssso many loosssse endssss to tie up that I don__'__t know where to sssstart._ It was at that moment that I started to hear those voices again, the cooing of the dove, the giggling of Kendall, and the haunting and hypnotic voice of the white-cloaked woman as she whispered, "we shall meet again". I respond to this by shaking my head as if to shut the voices up, but did so gently so that I wouldn't wake Raven. After that was done, I look over at her. She looked so beautiful and peaceful as she slept.

_Could she be any cuter_, I asked myself as I listened to her breathing and felt her breath against my scales. It was at that moment she began to snore, but even that had a desirable cuteness to it. Unlike most people, whose snoring sounded like a long, drawn out grunt/growling sound, Raven's snoring was much quieter, so much quieter that her snoring sounded more like a hissing sound than a growling sound. I don't know how she managed it, but she took what is usually the most annoying and irritating sound in the world, and made it into one of the most cutest and adorable in the world. Hearing the already gorgeous Raven snoring a reptilian snore was not only cute, but I surprisingly found it rather, though a part feels _really_ dark for admitting this, sexy. _I__'__m not gonna lie. Ssssnake or not, that issss hot_, I told myself as I continued to listen to her snore. It was at that moment that I decided to forget about the voices and upcoming danger, just for a moment. _That__'__ssss enough worrying for now. I need a break_, I thought as I turned my head back up to my body and began to drift off to sleep.


	20. Mall Drama

I don't really know how long we were asleep, seeing as how I failed to get back the watch that Rancid stole and this was before I realized that the communicators had clocks on them (stupid me), but eventually we arrived at the mall, and Cyborg was more than gracious enough to wake us up.

"Phew. Finally, we're here", begins Cyborg before actually noticing that we were asleep in the back. "I said, "we're here"", he repeats a bit more sternly. Though I was "awake" enough to hear him, I either wasn't "awake" enough to comprehend what he was saying, or flat out didn't care, either one is a possibility. "Is anyone awake? YO! WAKE UP", he hollers. Beast Boy, myself, and the girls all groan as we start to regain consciousness.

"No wake yet. More sleep", whined Beast Boy as he managed to lose his hold on his animal form.

"*Yawn, I will have to advise against that, Beast Boy", said Starfire as she poked the top of his head, politely reminding him that he was stretched out across her lap in his human form.

"*Chuckles nervously, my bad."

"I can't believe this! The four of you all take a nap while me and Robin are stuck staring at the road for who-knows-how-long?"

"Uh, you and who", asked Raven as she points over at shotgun. Cyborg looks to his left to see that Robin had also fallen asleep at some point during our trip. Cyborg responds with an EAC face of his own.

"Guess someone should wake him up", suggested Cyborg. The rest of us sort just looked over at each other waiting for somebody to say something. "Well don't everybody volunteer at once", said Cyborg sarcastically.

"Or, or, or", began Beast Boy as he frantically waved his hand in the air as if he were a child in elementary school raising his hand.

"Isn't that the call of an oceanic lion", asked Starfire. Her "so close, yet so far" nature when it came to her English was almost criminal.

"Quiet. You'll just open the door to more unfunny jokes", said Raven in reference to Beast Boy's knack for exploiting cheap and tired puns, especially animal-related ones.

"That wasn't what I was going to say", said Beast Boy defensively.

"Then what then", I asked. Looking back, as much conversation that went on in that car, it's amazing that Robin slept through it all.

"You'll see. But first, Cyborg, hand me Robin's iPod", he said as he stuck out his hand. Cyborg then hands him a cherry red iPod with an aux cord connecting it to the T-Car's radio.

_Well, now we know where that deafening rock music wassss coming from_, I thought to myself. Beast Boy then begins digging through Robin's iPod. I couldn't help but notice that Beast Boy's usually cheesy grin had a sinister look to it, and that his pointed ears curved towards his head to a point where they almost looked like horns.

"What are you up to, BB", asked Cyborg. Beast Boy then finds a song he likes, and then reaches over to the radio and scrolls the volume dial all the way to maximum. Sensing what was about to happen, I lift my head up and around Raven and stretch to look over Beast Boy's shoulder. I cringed a little once I noticed his song choice. The song he had chosen was "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven, a rock song that had a somewhat quiet intro, but then immediately went ape-shit with a loud as Hell guitar melody.

"Yeah, we should totally abandon ship. Like right now", I said to the other Titans, having now anticipated what Beast Boy was planning to do. Beast Boy then opens his car door and begins to get out, placing the iPod on the car seat next to Starfire as he did so. He was getting into position. By this point, the other Titans were also aware of what was going to happen, as was indicated by our frantic panic as we all fled out of the car. I even went as far as Changing back to my wolf form so I could leap out of the car. After the five of us all made it out, Beast Boy leans back in and presses the "play" button on Robin's iPod. Beast Boy then leans out of the car and flees, closing the door behind him as he did so.

"No reason for us _all_ to go deaf", said Cyborg as he pushes a button on his car keys in response to hearing the song's intro, which I later found out activated a sound-proof shield. He basically made it to where Robin was trapped in a large metal prison with ear-deafening music that was so secure that absolutely no sound could escape. It only took a few seconds for the music to begin blasting. It took even less time for Robin to react to it. I still don't know how he managed it, but one second he was passed out asleep while leaned up against the shotgun window with his seat belt on, and in the blink of an eye, he was on his back on the floor behind the driver's seat covering his ears. Seeing him move so quickly in response to a jump scare ranked up there with watching YouTube videos of pet owners teasing and scaring their cats.

It took Robin a few seconds to finally unplug the iPod, but when he finally did, needless to say he wasn't too pleased. The rest of us on the other hand were just cracking up to no end. The whole prank lasted less than twenty seconds, but you would've thought it had gone on for hours by how hard we were laughing, even Raven felt no need to hide how hard she was laughing.

"Shhhh! Quiet, guys. Here he comes", whispered Beast Boy as Robin, having finally gotten out of the car, stomped over to us. I could still hear several of us snickering as we tried our best to hold a serious face.

"Cute. Ve-ry cute", said an unamused Robin. He then begins darting his glare at each of us individually, as if he was non-verbally interrogating us trying to find out "who did it". When he looked at me, I exploited the fact that I was in my wolf form and tilt my head to the side as I played my role of "just a dumb animal". Eventually Robin glared at Cyborg, and he glared hard. Robin was convinced that Cyborg was the one who pranked him, which to be fair was understandable. Beast Boy was in the clear, until he blew a raspberry, the kind you make when you burst out laughing after trying not to laugh for too long, and began cracking up all over again. Upon hearing BB break his bearing, the rest of us all began laughing again as well.

"You should've seen your face", laughed Cyborg.

"Yeah, you were all like….", began Beast Boy as he morphs back into a cat. He then rowls like someone had just stepped on his tail in reference to Robin's wakeup call. I don't know if it was because Robin was usually never the victim of pranks, I assumed he wasn't anyway, or because he's just cranky whenever he's disturbed while sleeping, but he was going off, and the fact that we were all still laughing at him while he did so wasn't helping any. This was one of the few times I was glad Starfire was around.

"You think this is a joke? You think this is funny", asked Robin as he began to become more enraged by the second. "What if I snapped my back? What if I got whiplash? What if I went deaf? What if….". Robin then is interrupted by Starfire as she pulls him close by the front of his uniform and kisses him. Stunned and shocked, Robin's body just sort of tenses up like a flagpole as he just takes Starfire's kiss without question. After a few moments of a dragged out kiss, Starfire releases him, and it was only then that he returned to the Robin we all knew. "All is forgiven", he says awkwardly as he clears his throat and walks back towards the car.

He then opens one of the back doors and begins tossing out Beast Boy's bags of laundry one by one. Beast Boy responds, determined not to let them hit the ground, by morphing into his sasquatch form and frantically running around trying to catch them all. Surprisingly enough, he actually manages it, though the sight of a green sasquatch stomping around in a panic was kinda funny to see.

"Okay, _now _can we get this shopping trip started", asked Robin, still a bit grumpy, but eager to move on.

"I should hope so, seeing as how it's now a quarter 'til noon", said Raven as she checked the clock on her communicator.

_Considering we left the tower between 10:00 and 10:30, that means Raven was sleeping against me for at least a whole hour. Sweet_, I thought to myself.

"How curious. A trip such as this usually takes us less than half an Earth hour", said Starfire.

"Yeah, well tell that to the extra traffic, the countless red lights, the incompetent dog catcher that crashed his truck and released half a dozen dogs into the streets, and that old lady that held up an entire intersection because of her little "protest", said Cyborg with a face that looked like he was going to throw up.

"I unfortunately was awake for that", added Robin, also creating a "throw up face".

"What happened", asked Raven.

"Let's just say that time did not treat her well."

"My eyes cannot unsee what they've seen", added Cyborg as he covered his eyes with one hand dramatically. Some of my fur stood up at that moment due to me creating an assumption on what might've happened.

"You know, on second thought, I don't want to know", said Raven as she walked towards the end of the parking lot towards the mall entrance.

"Yeah, I'm gonna pass, too", I added as I followed her. Beast Boy growls in agreement as he follows as well. The other three Titans soon followed after. I remember how we all laughed as Beast Boy, due to him being eleven feet tall at the time, hit his head on the top of the entrance trying to walk inside. He remedied the situation by morphing down into a gorilla. Upon entry, we found ourselves gathering by a large fountain to discuss our game plans.

"So, where to, Titans", asked Robin.

"Well BB's gonna hit the cleaners, I've gotta hit the hardware and auto stores", began Cyborg.

"I wish to explore the choices for female clothing", said a gleeful Starfire.

"Raven and I are gonna take a look at some fabrics", began Robin. "And you, Wolfman?" I lowered myself to the ground to sit before answering.

"Well, I….", I began. I lost my train of thought at the sound of a whistle. The whistle was immediately followed by an annoying and obnoxious accent, though I couldn't quite identify the part of the country it was from.

"Hold up there, Guys", exclaimed a security guard on one of those scooter things they stand on as he rolled up to us. "So, uh, what's going on here", he asks as he points to the lot of us. I immediately started to become annoyed by this guy due to him being a heavy gum chewer who chewed with his mouth open and off to the side, much like an obnoxious horse.

"Nothing yet. We just got here", said Robin.

"Course 'ya did. You, uh, lookin' to shop in here?"

"Oh, yes. We'd be more than happy to", chimed Starfire.

"Not without leashes 'ya won't."

"Come again", asked Cyborg.

"Leashes. Come on, Guy. Leashes. Ain't you ever heard of a leash before, Guy?"

"Guy", asked Cyborg harping on the fact that this guy used the word "guy" a lot.

"Look here, Guy. Either 'ya put 'ya two fleabags on leashes….", he began as he pointed to me and Beast Boy.

"Beg your pardon", I interrupted as I rose to my hind legs. Beast Boy, also offended, lets out a brief roar, causing the guard to jump to a point where he almost lost his balance.

"These _fleabags_ are members of our team", said a defensive Robin.

"Oh yeah. You guys are them Titan guys, ain't 'ya? Clean a lot of clocks, don't 'ya, Guy", he asked Robin.

"I'll clean his clock if he doesn't stop saying, "guys"", muttered Cyborg. Raven then elbows him to shut him up.

"Look here, Guys. This here mall's got a strict leash law, capiche", he asked as he ripped off a sheet of paper from his clipboard and hands it to Robin. After reading it a moment, Robin then hands it to me. I then read aloud so Beast Boy could hear.

""All animals on mall grounds must be attended for via leash or cage. No exceptions. All unattended animals will be restrained, captured, and if necessary, put down". Psssh, love to see him try", I muttered.

"'You threatenin' me, Guy", said the security guard as he reached for his belt. If he were a cop I might've taken him more seriously, but since he was a security guard in a mall, all he was equipped with was a whistle, a flashlight, and a can of pepper spray, so naturally I growled at him in response to him being a complete douche.

"Whoa whoa whoa, we don't any trouble, do we", asked Robin as he looked at me with a stern look. I also noticed Raven looking at me out the corner of my eyes. The truth of the matter was, I had no problem with the guard's request or the leash law, though that bit about being "put down" was kinda questionable. I've been in malls before, and I'm fully aware that many of them don't allow animals and have leash laws, and have good reasons for it.

From a logical standpoint, it makes sense to not have a bunch of animals roaming around the mall by themselves, though it'd be more fun if the animals in question were all mutants. I had no problems with the rules, I just didn't like the guard telling us about them. He was rude and disrespectful. I could've been a pet owner with a dog and still found his "fleabag" comment offensive. Who was he to go around calling _any_ animal a fleabag? Besides, between that, his annoying and obnoxious accent, and his horrendous gum chewing, this dude sent out a _really_ negative vibe. But, I digressed and gave into the rules as I Changed back into my human form.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it, Guy", asked Officer Sweeney (I caught a glimpse of his name tag). I growled at him again in response as if to say, "don't push your luck". "Now you, Green Bean." Beast Boy then looks over at us and offers us a few of his bags as if to ask us to help carry them. We all at that moment, having full knowledge of the fact that _all_ of his dirty laundry were in those bags, take a giant step away from him. Gorilla Beast Boy then makes his signature EAC face as he lets out a sarcastic groan. "Here, Guy", began Sweeney as he reaches into his pocket. "Hope 'ya like pink", he said as he pulled out a pink leash. Beast Boy's eyes suddenly widen upon realizing what he meant.

"Oooh! I've got this one", said Cyborg as he stepped forward to receive the leash from Sweeney. Beast Boy then looks over at the rest of us with a worried look on his face. We all just started to giggle a little.

"Oh yeah. Good luck living this one down", said Raven with a grin. Beast Boy responds with another groan as Cyborg slips the leash around his neck.

"'Dere 'ya go", said Sweeney as he turned his scooter around and began to ride away. "Y'all have 'ya-selves a nice day", he shouted back to us before he was out of earshot.

"Dick", I said after he was out of sight. Beast Boy grunted in agreement.

"Maybe, but he's gone now", said Robin. "Shall we", he asked to Raven. Raven simply nods her head as the two of them began to walk away. "We'll catch up with you guys later", he said back to us.

"Will do", said Cyborg back to him. "Come along, Monkey Boy", he continues as he tugs on Beast Boy's leash. Beast Boy groans in resentment as he resists Cyborg's tugging. Cyborg responds by tugging harder, which easily wins over Beast Boy's obedience. "If anyone asks, I'm gonna call you Bobo", he said with a cheesy grin as the two of them walked in a direction opposite of Raven and Robin's. Beast Boy roars at him in response, but Cyborg just laughs.

Starfire, having heard Cyborg's "Bobo" comment as they walked away, begins to giggle, but stops when she notices that she was alone with me. She then looks at me with a serious look. It wasn't so much an angry look like she usually gave me, but it looked more like she was confused for some reason. Without saying anything, she then flies up to the second floor and disappears to do her own shopping.

"Well, that was subtle", I said sarcastically. I then began to look around to see what kinds of stores the mall had. I don't know what it was about Jump City, but the majority of the stores and businesses there were strictly local. There were hardly any nationwide brands or logos to be seen anywhere. "Man, I don't even know where to start." I then turned a corner and happened upon a store I recognized, Target. "Bullseye", I said as I walked towards the entrance.

Once inside, I grabbed me one of their red carts and began shopping. It was one of the few times in my life that I took my sweet time to just look around. Usually my shopping trips were quick, easy, and painless because I already knew what I needed and what I wanted to look at prior to walking through the door, which was why I always hated shopping with my mother, who never knew what she wanted until she got to the store. However, this time it was my first shopping trip since being stranded in Jump City, and I had to start my life over.

During my shopping, the first few things I found were some toothpaste, a few toothbrushes, some olive and castor oil for my hair, a small comb, a new afro pick, two sets of clippers (one for facial hair, and the other for "other" hair), batteries, and mouth wash. I then gathered me some Axe brand body wash and body spray.

_Can__'__t be smelling like a wet dog all the time, now, can we?_ I then stumbled across a clearance bin with a bunch of towels in it. It didn't take a genius to figure out why they were on clearance. They were old, like really old. I don't really know how to explain it, but you could tell that these towels had been just sitting on the shelves for months and months and months without selling. It was also evident by the fact that there was no organization to the bin they were in. There were a great many different colors, styles, and brands for the towels. However, I fortunately managed to find three of the same towel in that bin. They weren't anything glamorous, just three pitch-black towels to match the color theme for the Titans. _Since Raven seems to have already claimed purple, I guess I__'__m stuck with black for being my color._

After that, I did a bit of window shopping, looking at stuff that looked cool and stuff I impulsively wanted, but knew I didn't need. Besides, although I had a large amount of money in my name, the very last thing I wanted to do was make a big purchase right away. This was for two really big reasons. The first was that I had quite literally just got my bank account, the credit card, and the money that very same day, and it'd look _really_ bad if I blew most of it on the first day, especially if the purchase in question was something I didn't need.

The second, and most important, reason was because I wanted to prove to myself that I could start my new life on the right foot. I already lucked out with finding a new home, a new source of income, and new friends, all within a few short days, but now I finally had the opportunity to start thinking about my future. I had the opportunity to start making decisions. I had the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself, a feeling I hadn't had in a long time, and I wasn't about to screw it up.

My window shopping eventually led me to the clothing department. With all of my stuff still in Anchorage, the only clothes I had were the ones I was currently wearing, which were atrocious. Though I truly was more comfortable in my wolf form, to the point where I favored that form over my human form, part of the reason why I tended to stay as a wolf around the Titans was because of my clothes. Thanks to Rancid, my Classic shirt, which used to be a kickass nostalgic novelty item, was now a raggedy light purple shirt with random pictures on it. He messed it up so bad to where it looked like the shirt was handmade, terribly. My jeans were even worse. Full of holes, the bottoms of the legs were all frayed, and the blue color was starting to fade.

_The sooner I get out of these clothes the better_, I thought to myself as I began looking through all the new clothes. I had never been more excited to buy clothes before. Back in Anchorage I had too many clothes, so getting new clothes always annoyed me because I knew I didn't need them. Here in Jump City, I had little to nothing, so getting new clothes was amazing, like if clothing was food and I was stranded in a desert for the past four days. _Huh, I wonder if this is the feeling women have when they shop for clothes_, I thought to myself. I started collecting a bunch of the collared Polo shirts that I liked, but then I had a thought. _Wait a second. Don__'__t the Titans just wear their uniforms everyday?_ It was then I decided that it'd probably be best to build a wardrobe in a similar manner. I didn't have a uniform, so I went with the next best thing, clothes that I could afford to damage, but still were acceptable enough for me to fight in and be seen in public in. _Guess it__'__s gym shorts and sweat pants for this guy_, I thought as I hung up all of the much cooler Polo shirts.

I then made my way over to Target's selection of sportswear. Much to my surprise when I found an outfit I actually liked. It consisted of three parts. The first was the gym shorts. They were loose on the legs, but tight at the waist, meaning I didn't have to worry about tying a knot or anything. They were pitch-black with a single white stripe that ran down each leg, my kinda style. Then there was the sweat pants, which were the same brand as the gym shorts. They too were loose on the legs and tight at the hips. They also had the same color design, except the sweats had two white stripes on each leg instead of one. The idea was to play the sweat pants by ear, depending upon whether I felt I needed them for a public setting, or the weather. After all, I was now in sunny California, a long way from the much cooler Alaska. And last but not least, was the shirt. I don't know what the brand was called, but I liked it. It was made kinda like a jersey, in the sense that it had a thicker and tougher material base than your average t-shirt. It was sleeveless, making it more comfortable to wear, despite people having to see my marked up arms, but I was willing to live with that. And the color choices were awesome, so much so that it took me about five minutes to narrow down my options to two designs.

The first was a black shirt with a white ring around the collar. Simple, classy, and nothing too over the top. The other was a dark purple shirt of the same design, except the ring around the collar was black. I _really, really, really_ was leaning towards the purple one. I even went as far as to justify why I should get the purple one even though black was my team color.

_Raven__'__s team color may be purple, but her favorite color is obviously blue, probably indigo._ Unfortunately I had to face reality. Though I wanted the purple shirt, I knew that it didn't match the rest of my wardrobe, which normally I would be okay with since they were merely gym clothes. However, since these gym clothes were going to act as my Titan uniform, they needed to match, meaning I would have to revolve my outfit around that one shirt, which wasn't possible since no other choices of gym shorts or sweat pants really went with that purple shirt. The black shirt on the other hand matched perfectly with the rest of my wardrobe's theme, black with white stripes. _Eh, Star and BB are already in purple uniforms_, I thought to myself with a sigh as I put back the purple shirt. I then grabbed ten complete sets of my new uniform and threw them into my cart. In addition I got me some more underwear, socks, and "wife-beaters" as well. _These are extremely essential._ I then found me a nice pair of black and white running shoes, so nice that I grabbed three pairs of them.

_Hang on, how am I supposed to carry all of this stuff? Better question, where am I gonna put it once I get back to the Tower?_ Those two questions then led me to purchase a laundry bag and a medium-sized suitcase, small enough to where it was easy to manage, but big enough to fit all the clothes and stuff I was about to buy. "Okay, that just might do it", I said as I pushed my cart towards the check out. I came to a halt when I noticed a sort of Hallmark section. There were greeting cards and kick knacks everywhere, but that wasn't what grabbed my attention. What truly grabbed my attention were the calendars. There was one in particular that had wolves on it, complete with a lunar chart. I flipped a couple pages into it to the month of March to retrace events from the past couple of days.

_Let__'__s see here, the last full moon was, well the night I got here, which was on Thursday, the 5th. Then the next day I got jumped and visited the Tower, and then the next day there was the dog, the lost little girl, that bitch with the broom, by the way, who fights a werewolf, or even a regular wolf for that matter with a broom? Anyway, and then I got recruited. That was also the night I hung out with Raven. Man, that was awesome. Um, let__'__s see, after that it was pancakes, the H.I.V.E. Five, and movie night, and that brings us here, so today is Monday, the 8th._

I then noticed that the next full moon, or autumn moon according to Kendall, was scheduled to rise on Friday, April 3rd, meaning I had a little less than four weeks left. Having grasped that fact, I began to get bummed out again. I went from feeling excited about preparing to start my new life, to feeling depressed about preparing for my last few days of my life.

_Worst, Monday, ever_, I thought to myself with a growl as I tossed the calendar into my cart and continued to the check out. It was then that I found myself in the last place anyone wanted to be when trying to check out, at the register with a new employee on her first day.

She was a very shy and very timid young girl, probably around the age of fifteen, maybe sixteen. She had ginger hair on her head, and freckles on her face. She also wore glasses, and had braces on her teeth. From my position in line I caught a glimpse of her name tag. Her name was Elizabeth.

_Oooh, that__'__s a bit unfortunate_, I thought to myself in reference to the late NickToons show. My thoughts were interrupted at the sound of the gentleman ahead of me. He was accompanied by two women, both blonde, one of which was the blonde bitch from Hell I kept bumping into. _For the love of God, pleeeease don__'__t turn around._

"What's the problem? Why is it taking you so long", complained the thirty-something year old man as he tried to lean over the register to look at Elizabeth's screen.

"M-my apologies, Sir. I just have to make one little correction….", she began hesitantly.

"Correction", scoffed one of the blondes. They both spoke like movie cliches so I honestly really don't know which of them was speaking. "That's like, what, your fifth one?" I then heard one of them make a "Wild Thornberrys" joke under their breath.

_I knew that joke was coming_, I thought to myself.

"My apologies, Ma'am. I will have that taken care….".

"No! Hell no", exclaimed the man again. "We've been trying to buy this merchandise for the past ten minutes! I could've been in my car by now as slow as you're going!"

_I don__'__t know about all that, Dude. Even on a good day, I would need at least ten minutes to ring y__'__all up_, I thought to myself as I noticed these three ignoramuses easily had an entire cart's worth of merchandise, a lot of which was jumbo sized.

"Sir, please! If you would please stop shouting at me I could get this done", exclaimed Elizabeth having finally lost her cool, not that I blamed her. The man was too riled up to care, but I noticed that Elizabeth upon saying that to him was struggling not to cry.

"Who the Hell do you think you're talking to you little bitch", shouted the man as he slammed Elizabeth's counter.

"I think it's pretty clear who she's talking to", I said to the man. "Please do us all a favor and take it down a few."

"You've got something to say to me?" Before answering I look around behind me for comedic effect.

"Oh, you're talking to me. I'm sorry, I thought I stated what I needed to say pretty clearly." The man, who by the way was a rather large man at a height of approximately 6'5, then walks up to me and gets in my face. I looked up at him for a moment, as we were now staring each other down, but my attention was pulled away as one of the blondes spoke out.

"Ew, aren't you that hobo guy from the dumpster?"

"Very nice to see you again", I said to her as I leaned around the large man. "I do hope you were able to replace that broom of yours", I added as I Changed my eyes from brown to yellow. She responded by backing up a little as she gasped. The large man responded by grabbing at my shirt and lifting me up to his eye level.

"I'm thinking that somebody needs to learn to mind his own business, before his big mouth gets him into a world of hurt."

"And I'm thinking you might want to ease up on the steroids. Or at least invest in some anger management classes", I said sarcastically as I lifted my right hand up and patted his left cheek. He responds by swinging his right fist at me to punch me in the face, but he wasn't fast enough. I responded to his obvious attack by blocking his fist with my left fist, breaking a few of the bones in his hand in the process. The large brute then falls onto his back and writhes in pain as he holds his right wrist in his left hand, releasing his grip on me in the process. "Tsk tsk tsk, you might wanna put some ice on that hand", I taunted as I stood over him.

"Like oh, my gosh", what's your problem", said one of the blondes.

"What the Hell are you", said the injured man. I noticed a bit of fear in his voice upon asking me that.

"A very good question. A question such as that deserves an equally valuable answer. That said, here's a little hint", I said as my yellow eyes turned blue in front of him. His jaw dropped upon seeing me do this. I then gave him a bit of a jump scare as I let out a loud as Hell bear growl in his face, sharpening my teeth as I did so for effect. Like the bitches they are, the injured man and two blondes scream in response and run out of the store in a panic. I then returned my teeth and eyes to normal before facing Elizabeth, who I also inadvertently frightened. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

"O-Okay", she responded nervously.

"First day?" She nods in response. "Were you ever trained on how to use your register?"

"I-I was, but it was so confusing and the guy was very fast and I didn't want to sound stupid and….", she began in a sort of panicky rant.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy, Elizabeth. Take a deep breath." Elizabeth then motions her arms as she inhaled and exhaled. "Now, the first thing we've got to do is get you out of your current transaction. Look on the side of your screen. There should be a button there that says "suspend"."

"I don't see it", said Elizabeth as she brought her eyes back to her screen.

"Is there a button that says "page down"?"

"Uh, yes. I see that one."

"Push that button first, then look for the "suspend" button. I continued to coach her until she had cancelled the last guy's transaction and completed mine.

"Here you are, Sir", said a more calm and confident Elizabeth as she handed me my receipt. "And thank you."

"Not at all", I responded.

"No, really, thank you, Mr. uh, uh….", she began. Guess she really didn't look at my credit card when she was verifying it. Usually that's a big no-no for cashiers, but I let it slide.

"They call me the Wolfman", I said as I offered her my hand to shake as I Changed my brown eyes to yellow. I figured since the rest of the Titans had hero names, I might as well start introducing myself the same way.

"Wolfman", she repeated as she shook my hand. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Liz." Judging by the way she smiled back, I assumed she appreciated the nickname I gave her. Even if the nickname wasn't new for her, I was sure she appreciated being called Liz, as opposed to Eliza. "Have a nice day", I said with a wave as I walked towards the exit pulling my new suitcase. Once I left the Target, the first thing I did was go find a bathroom. Once there, I immediately grabbed the handicapped stall at the end and began to change clothes.

_Guess now is as good a time as any_, I thought as I opened my suitcase and pulled out one of my new uniforms. After I had successfully changed clothes, I then made my way to the bathroom sink. I then gave myself a much needed cleansing as I brushed my teeth and oiled and combed my hair. I then pulled out one of the sets of clippers and popped in a couple of batteries. I then took the time, with a little help from the comb I bought, to trim up my mustache and shave off my small beard and neck hair (for a guy who is used to having his body completely covered in fur, in my human form, I didn't grow much facial hair). This process was kinda tedious considering I was doing this all in a public bathroom, but fortunately the bathroom was empty, nor did anyone enter while I was sprucing.

"Much better", I said to myself in the mirror once my little makeover was complete. I had just barely made it out of the bathroom, when I noticed Officer Sweeney again. He was doing what he does best, harassing, only this time he was harassing what appeared to be a homeless gentleman. He wore a raggedy, brown trench coat, a pair of black jeans, and an old "TMNT" t-shirt. He had long, grayish hair, though it had a dirty brown look to it, and he was completely barefoot. I don't know how their exchange started out or what had happened, but it was clear what was happening in front of me. Sweeney was trying to kick him out of the mall. As Sweeney pushed the man continuously trying to force him through the nearby exit, the homeless man continuously tried to turn to face him with his hands out, begging as he said things like, "just a bit of change" or "make a difference".

"Look here, Guy, I'm not gonna tell you again. Get goin'", ordered Sweeney as they moved closer and closer to the exit. Outraged by how disrespectfully Sweeney was treating that man, I decided to help him out. Since I doubted that I could convince Sweeney to let the man stay inside, I decided to do the next best thing, give him what he wanted before he left.

I squatted down and opened my suitcase. I then grabbed one of the large, plastic shopping bags I was originally given to carry my purchases in before I moved everything into my suitcase. I then opened it and filled it with my old pair of white tennis shoes, my old shirt and jeans I came to Jump City with, two of the ten sets of my new uniform, and the $200 in my wallet that I withdrew during my purchase. I then tied the bag up and closed my suitcase as I rose to my feet and hurried over to Sweeney and the homeless man. I was just in time, too, because Sweeney had managed to push the man to where they were about five feet from the exit.

"Hey, Mister", I shouted at them. I came to a halt a few feet away from Sweeney as he and the homeless man stopped to look back at me. I then took the tied up plastic bag and held it up for them to see. I then swung it around as I prepared to toss it. I didn't want to hit either of them, so I threw up far and high as I aimed for the wall above the top of the exit. The bag hit its target, and then fell to the floor a few feet in front of the homeless man. He then dashes over to eagerly see what was in the bag.

"Bless you", said the man, who upon looking at him up close kinda looked like Sam Elliott, back to me as he rose to his feet with the bag in his hand. He then rushes out of the mall in response to Sweeney reaching for his belt.

"And if I catch 'ya here again 'ya gonna be sorry", shouted Sweeney. He then turns back and shoots a glare at me. It didn't bother me too much. I didn't break any rules, and in actuality I made his job a bit easier as I managed to calm the situation down between him and the homeless man. That said, I simply shrugged and walked away.

I had just rounded the corner and was on my way down a long straight shot towards the food court when I noticed the sound of motorized wheels. I twitched my ears and sniffed the air, Sweeney was following me.

_Guess you__'__ve got nothing better to do, do you?_ To this day, I feel kinda guilty that I took pleasure in this, like I was enjoying the fact that I enraged somebody so greatly, but given the many things on my mind at the time, the last thing I needed was that mall cop, and I made the message clear that I didn't really care for him. As I continued to walk, I made a few Changes. My human ears became pointed, my brown eyes turned yellow, my feet turned into wolf paws, and I brought back my tail as it materialized behind me. To continue to taunt him, I slowly and deliberately wagged my tail in time with my stride. He knew I knew he was following me, which I guess pissed him off because moments after that my ears twitch to the sound of his scooter thing revving up to go faster. I soon found myself walking with Sweeney riding beside me. "Is there a problem, Officer?"

"Oh ho ho, that there is funny. You're funny, Guy", he said sarcastically as he wagged his finger at me.

"What do you want, Sweeney?" He hesitated before answering, probably because he had nothing to pin on me.

"You think you're pretty slick there, don't 'ya, Guy? The trash talkin', the tiptoeing around the leash laws, making me look like a fool in front of the homeless, you just have no respect for authority, do 'ya, Guy?"

"Unless there's a law I'm unaware of that makes sarcasm and trolling illegal, I'd say we're done here", I said with a grin.

"You may think you're hot stuff because you're with them Titans, but to me, you nothing but a wild animal, a fleabag, a mutt." I could feel a growl rumbling in my chest upon hearing his comments. "Y'all all the same, not knowin' where you belong on the food chain."

"I suppose you think that humans reign supreme?"

"You really have to ask me, Guy? What are 'ya, retarded or somethin'?" I almost released my growl and prepared to let out a roar at him in response to his arrogance, but got interrupted.

"You really shouldn't use that word, Sir", said a young college student at a nearby table. She was accompanied by two other students, one male, one female, at their table, which they were using as a booth to raise awareness for ending the use of the R-Word.

"Leave 'em alone, Sweeney", I said to him as I noticed him about to say something to them. He then turns to say something to me, but gets interrupted by his little walkie-talkie attached to his shoulder.

"Dispatch to Sweeney, Dispatch to Sweeney, over."

"Sweeney to Dispatch, ova", he replies reluctantly. He then turns his back to me and rolls away a bit to prevent me from hearing. Unfortunately for him, I was a werewolf, and the guy speaking to him on the other end, at least to my ears, was all kinds of loud, so I didn't have to actually try all that hard to overhear the conversation. At first I was listening in to see if there was some kind of disturbance in the mall. As a newly recruited Titan, I felt it'd look pretty bad if there was a disturbance and I didn't respond to it. But as the conversation went on I discovered he was just being "voluntold" to respond to a mild confrontation at Victoria's Secret involving a naked older woman and a cashier.

_Honestly, what is it with Jump City__'__s elderly and public nudity today_, I thought to myself. My thoughts were interrupted as Officer Sweeney hung up his walkie-talkie.

"'Til the next time, Guy", he said simply as he revved his scooter and drove off as if he was trying a bit too hard to look like a badass.

_Dude, it__'__s a scooter_, I thought to myself as I shook my head a little. I was about to continue my walk to the food court when I remembered the booth I was standing next to. I looked over at them and noticed that the clipboard they had on their table with their petition only had three signatures, theirs. For some reason, I guess to grab people's attention, they also had a bottle of ink and a quill with an ostrich feather to write with instead of just a regular ink pen. _It couldn__'__t hurt_, I thought as I walked over with the intention of signing their petition.

I immediately noticed the lot of them looking at my tail, eyes, and paws. It was clearly their first time meeting a werewolf, which is always a _fun_ little experience. None of them said anything as they looked me over, and I didn't really know what to say to them, so the whole exchange was rather awkward. In an attempt to break the ice a bit, instead of using their ostrich plume, I decided to show off a bit. I Changed my right index finger into a claw and dipped it into the bottle of ink. Since both it and my claws were pitch black, I knew that the ink would wear off before I even noticed it. After dipping my claw into the ink, I then go on to gently sign the word "Wolfman" on their petition in a crude cursive. Expecting at least one of them to say something in response, they all instead just watched in awe.

_Well that didn__'__t work_, I thought to myself as I handed their petition back to them. I then gave them a peace pistol and began to walk away. I don't know what I was expecting from them at that point, but before I made it too far away, the one male student among the three them then runs up behind me and taps me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Man, thanks for that", he says to me as I turned to face him. "Seriously though, nobody's been over to our booth. We appreciate you", he said as he handed me a pen and a small spiral notebook, one of those little ones that you flip over the top to turn the page. Wasn't much, but I appreciated the gesture.

"Not a problem", I said as I shook his hand. We then awkwardly go our separate ways as he returns to his booth while I continue towards the food court.

I Change completely back to my human form just as I entered the food court. I had only made my Changes to mess with Sweeney, so since he wasn't around anymore, I saw no point in drawing any unnecessary attention to myself.

_So many choices_, I thought to myself as I looked around at all of the restaurant choices. Much like the stores in the mall, most of the restaurants were local eating places I had never heard of. _Wave Jump Surf &amp; Turf, Callie__'__s Cali Rolls, Gotham Giros_, I began as I read the names of some of the restaurants. There were only two restaurants that I did recognize, Taco John's and Dairy Queen. Part of me wanted to hit up Dairy Queen, but I decided to be adventurous and chose Gotham Giros instead. There were four other people in front of me when I got in line, but I didn't care, I had nothing better to do.

A few minutes later, at which point two of the four people ahead of me had already left with their food, I found myself cringing as I heard a trio of familiar voices. Three young men, presumably my age based on their voices, and they were hooting and hollering about some girls they ran into the night before. Those in front of me in line, now getting as annoyed as I was, would occasionally look back at them behind me and shake their heads and roll their eyes. I didn't blame them. For college students, they were cliche as Hell, not to mention completely rude and obnoxious.

_Please, for the love of God, please ignore me_, I begged in my head for I already knew who the three obnoxious douches were, and the absolute last thing I wanted to have to do was deal with them if they happened to recognize me. After waiting for what felt like hours, it was finally my turn to order at last. I soon found myself struggling to order as it was difficult to speak or even think over the three men behind me. "Yeah, uh, can I get….", I would begin but then lose my train of thought and have to start over due to me struggling to tune out the noise. "Oh, for Christ's sake! German giros and fries, please", I finally said with much frustration. I had just handed the cashier my credit card when the loudest one of the college men spoke out to me.

"Hold on. You look like that hobo from a couple of days ago. Looks like you finally had your bath", he said.

"You know, I _really_ don't like that word", I said to them with my back still turned to them.

"Is that so", asked Goon #1.

"Check it out, Boss. Hobo Dude's got an attitude", said Goon #2.

"I mean it", I warned them as I turned to face them. I then found myself getting more irritated because these three dudes were hella cliche. Their assumed leader, the guy who seemed to call the shots among the three of them, alone was so cliche as far as how he spoke, what he looked like, what his build was, and the fact that he wore a football letterman jacket, I decided to refer to him as Flash from "Spider-Man", because that's who he looked like. His two goons consisted of a built yet still very skinny white dude with long, gothish, black hair, and a larger black dude with dreads. They too, also had football jackets on, but aside from that I knew nothing about these guys, and to this day I couldn't care less about 'em.

"Hobo", says Flash simply as he grabs me by the front of my shirt and slams me backwards into the counter. The cashier gasped upon seeing him do so. I winced and let out a brief groan before speaking again.

"_One_ more time. I _dare_ you", I warned Flash, who was still holding me by my new shirt. Flash, unintimidated by me leans forward towards my ear.

"Ho-", he begins to whisper before I interrupt him by grasping his throat with my right hand. Flash, who was about the same size as me, then begins to gasp a bit as I managed to lift him up into the air. Despite this, his face didn't show signs of fear, but rather it showed signs of anger. Seriously, despite the fact that I was holding him up in the air by his throat, and the fact that he couldn't breathe, and the fact that he couldn't move or escape my grasp, and the fact that his two goons didn't do shit to try to get him down, he looked down at me with a pissed off attitude as if to say, "how dare you?", which ironically pissed me off even more. I had just finished tightening my grip on Flash's throat when the cashier called out behind me.

"Forget about him, Mr. Wolfman. He's not worth getting kicked off the team for." Stunned upon hearing her say that, I turn back around to her. I looked down at one of her hands that rested on the counter to see that she still had my credit card between her fingers. She knew that I was a Titan, and she was right, he wasn't worth getting kicked off the team for. With my eyes locked on her, I didn't trust myself to look at Flash as I did this, I slowly lowered him to the ground and gave him a quick shove as I released him. I did turn to face him when I sensed him trying to rush at me in response. I was more than willing to fight him then and there, but his friends had other ideas as they held him back.

"Let go of me", demanded Flash as he struggled against his two goons' grip on him. It was then that I Changed my eyes from my normal brown to Lobomon's yellow. Flash and his goons stop and stare in response.

"There's a reason why I am called "Wolfman", I said with a growl. Despite his stunned look towards me, I could sense that Flash still wanted to fight, which I admit, had me concerned a bit. It was one thing to want to fight, it was one thing to be stupid and want to fight an opponent you can't hope to win against (especially since it was one impulsive and ordinary human versus an Elemental werewolf), but something about Flash seemed different. Even as far as impulsive humans go, there was something _off_ about Flash.

"Forget him, Man. Let's go", said the goon in the dreads. I assumed he'd been with Flash longer than the other guy had based on the way that he managed to talk him down a bit, considering how unusual Flash's rage and impulses seemed. Flash, now convinced but still pissed, snatches his arms out of his goons' grip and storms off. Before taking off after their friend, Flash's goons take a moment to glare at me as if to try to size me up. I growled quietly in response, as if daring them to try something. As the goon in dreads began to walk away, the gothic goon then spoke out as he approached me.

"You had better watch your back, Son", he said trying to sound tough. I responded by releasing a single bark. The suddenness of my bark and the movements that went with it was more than enough to cause him to fall backwards as I startled him. After that, he didn't wait around to say anything else. He instead picked himself up awkwardly and scampered away after his friends.

_Perhaps, I could__'__ve handled that a little better_, I thought to myself with a sigh as I Changed my yellow eyes back to their normal brown color. I then turn back around to the cashier, anxiously awaiting the awkward conversation that would follow. That said, I was a bit shocked to say the least when she continued to work on my transaction as she handed me back my card. She didn't speak again until she brought me the food I ordered on a tray.

"Here you are, Sir", she said in a calm, presentable voice, as if she didn't just witness a werewolf choking out a college student just a moment ago. "And thank you."

"Well if it tastes as good as it looks, I'll definitely be back", I said in reference to the food. The food _did_ look good, but I only mentioned it to try to fill the air with some form of "normal" conversation, as if trying to make up for my unprofessional behavior.

"Well thank you, but I was actually referring to you. Thank you, Wolfman."

"Naw, no worries. I've dealt with jerks tougher than them", I bragged.

"Yes, I know", she said as she rolled up one of the long sleeves of her uniform. She then revealed on her shoulder a tattoo of the word "Sturgis", as in Sturgis, South Dakota. Underneath "Sturgis", there was also the images of two wolf paw prints, complete with claws. I also noticed that one of the paw prints was smaller than the other was. A small detail that took me a minute to understand, but once I did it was crystal clear what the tattoo meant. This cashier was from South Dakota, and she was a fan of me and my sister. "Do you recall that wildfire you stopped a few years ago", she asked me as she pulled her sleeve back down.

"Like it was yesterday", I responded.

"Well, you saved me and my brother's lives, and I never got the chance to thank you for what you did. Or for everything else you've done for SD." Upon hearing her say that I then had a flashback of that night of the wildfire. I remembered that trapped in the middle of the flames, surrounded by tall grass being reduced to ashes, were a young girl, and her even younger brother. I remembered how I had to warp-digivolve to my mega form, and how they rode on my back as I flew them to safety before immediately returning to the flames to eliminate them. I remembered her very well.

"How could I do anything less? I'm just glad I made it to you in time", I said as I grabbed my tray as began to walk away. "I'll tell Sammie you said, "hi", and give my regards to your brother, Lola."

"I will. And thank you", she said again. Before walking away completely I turned back at her, grew an extra arm, and gave her a peace pistol. After that, I continued my path towards the tables to find a seat.

There weren't any open tables for one or two, so I was stuck with getting one of the larger round tables to sit at, alone. Sitting at that large table by myself was all kinds of awkward, but fortunately, sort of, it wasn't my biggest concern at the time. There was so much to do, and so little time. As I ate, I pulled out the notebook that guy gave me and began to jot down some notes on a sort of "to do" list.

_Let__'__s see, the first thing I should do is figure out how to save Adryen and the others. Of course, it would help if I knew where they were. Ugh, then maybe I should network with some of my other associates. Except I don__'__t have any information to give them. Ugh! But then there__'__s Kendall, but I don__'__t even know where _she_ is either. And then there__'__s that army of masked men, that Doctor Light guy, Raven, my sisters, UGH! I don__'__t know what I__'__m doing!_ I was getting more and more flustered and frustrated. The Elementals had never been in a situation this intense, or this difficult. I didn't know what to do, and time was running out, for both me and my friends. I was about to give into my rage for the third time today and flip the table when I heard a familiar voice.

"Yo, Wolfman", cried Cyborg. I looked up to see that he and the Titans, all except Raven, had all finished shopping and were approaching my table. "Mmmm-mmm, I smell giros", he continued gleefully.

"Too bad there isn't anymore", I said as I picked up the empty cardboard carrier my fries were in and turned it upside down.

"No biggie", I've got to go fix that hole in the wall anyway."

"Oh, yeah", I said bashfully as my ears dropped in reference to my contribution to destroying the said wall.

"If anyone else is going back to the tower, speak now", continued Cyborg.

"I'll go, too", began Robin. "I've got a few reports to finish."

"And me and Star have a date with a Mega Monkeys tournament today at the arcade", said Beast Boy.

"Lovely", I said sarcastically as the title Mega Monkeys sounded like a rejected idea for Cartoon Network.

"Question", began Starfire. "Though I do not wish to ruin anyone's plans, if Beast Boy and I are to Mega the Monkeys, and Cyborg and Robin are to return to the Tower, then what's to become of Raven?" As expected, the guys ignored the fact that Starfire conveniently forgot about me, again.

"Where is Raven anyway", I asked.

"After we got the fabrics she took off to the bookstore", replied Robin.

"Well then I'm definitely not waiting around for her", began Beast Boy. "The last time she went in there she didn't come out for a whole two hours."

"No problem", I began as I got out of my chair. "You all go ahead, and I'll wait here with Raven. We'll catch up later." I then noticed that Cyborg and Robin were stealing glimpses of my notes I wrote in the open notebook I left on the table. I responded to this by using my powers to flip it closed. Starfire and Beast Boy were clueless, and although I could sense Cyborg preparing to question why I closed it, Robin took the hint immediately and moved the conversation forward.

"Then it's settled. I'll give you a hand with the wall as well", he said to Cyborg.

"Alrighty then. We can take that bag for you if you'd like", offered Cyborg.

"Sure", I said in response as I handed him the suitcase I just bought. However, the notebook I stuck in my pocket. "Now which way is the bookstore?"

"Just keep walking that way", began Cyborg as he pointed down the hallway I would've continued to walk down had I chose to ignore the food court. "It's just around the corner. Last door on the left."

"Got it, thanks", I said as I gave him a peace pistol before walking away. "Catch you guys later."

"See ya, Dude. I'll be sure to bring home the Golden Banana trophy", called Beast Boy confident about his upcoming tournament.

"Yeah, you do that", I chuckled to myself as I rolled my eyes. I then made my way to the end of the food court, at which point I turned left, towards the bookstore.


	21. Wolfman Phone Home

It didn't take me long to find the bookstore. It was right where Cyborg said it would be.

"Reading Every A Day", I said to myself as I read the stupid name of the bookstore. It was one thing for the owner to really want the acronym to spell out "read", which was obviously the case. However, seeing as how the acronym used the words, "Reading Every A Day", which was both terrible grammar as well as not being a sentence or phrase that anybody ever uses, including seriously hardcore bookworms, the entire title was just stupid. But I digressed as I walked through the door and began to look around.

I noticed Raven immediately. Once again she was buried in a book, being undeniably cute as always. She sat in one of the stores "comfy" chairs as she quietly read her book, cutting herself off from the rest of the surrounding world, including the noisy brat of an 11-year-old boy who was throwing a fit because his daddy wouldn't buy him a Spider-Man comic book.

_Guess it__'__s easy to tune out the rest of the world after learning to tune out Beast Boy and Starfire for so long_, I chuckled to myself. _God, it__'__s like you__'__re actively trying to be cuter and cuter each time I see you._ A part of me was mentally slapping myself across the face for using the word "cute" for about the millionth time, but I couldn't help it, Raven was cute. Sure there's many other words I could just as easily use to describe her, such as "sexy" or "hot", because Lord knows she was, and I was fully aware that she prided herself on being a badass spellcaster (at this point in time I started referring to her as spellcaster since I still hadn't yet figured out what exactly she was), but in addition to all of that, she was just so damn cute. Even the way she sat as she read her book was cute. As she read her book, her legs were pulled up under her and crossed, kinda like if she was sitting Indian-style, with the back of her cloak, probably because she didn't want to sit on it, draped over her legs, like she was in this cute little bundle sitting by a fireplace. I chuckled to myself again as her being bundled in her cloak as she read also reminded me of the foxtail remark I made earlier.

It was around this time that I noticed a few people giving me weird looks for the fact that I walked into a bookstore, and instead of any window shopping or anything "productive", I was standing absolutely still in the middle of the floor staring at Raven, which to the public is just a random stranger to me because as far as the public was concerned, I was nobody important (and therefore should have no actual connection or relationship with Raven) and the "Wolfman"'s existence was known by only small handfuls of people up until now. That said, I then took it upon myself to move to another area, which was just a fancy way of saying that I should probably check in with Raven. My intended course of walking towards Raven gets interrupted as I noticed the large t.v. that hung on the wall across from where Raven was sitting. It was no wonder Raven enjoyed reading in there for long periods of time, that bookstore was basically a cafe, except they took out the coffee and replaced it all with mountains of books. Anyway, that aside, I got distracted from my original task of checking in with Raven when I noticed the t.v. was broadcasting some international news, again, about Adryen's capture.

"Scientists and researchers are still baffled by what was witnessed here in Kenya only a couple of days ago", began the news reporter. "As you can see from the footage provided by a Kenyan resident, there is clearly a large gang of masked men engaging what appears to be a North American grizzly bear. And as if that wasn't odd enough, you then notice the bear sort of transforming into what many believe to be a dinosaur, more specifically, a baryonyx, a prehistoric reptile from approximately 130 million years ago known for its alligator-like jaws. Witness reports also took note of several claims of the animal producing blasts of ice as well as small tidal waves. Investigators around the globe, though a few are skeptical, are so far in agreement that the animal and the fight itself is nothing more than a hoax."

"Bull…. shit", I said aloud in anger. Some lady nearby got offended at my swearing and muttered something about there being kids in the store, but I didn't fucking care. My friend was just publicly attacked and abducted, plus the whole incident made international news, and now some white dude in a suit was sitting behind a desk telling me that it was a hoax. "A fucking hoax? Really? So many of you humans are still to this day blown away by Steven Spielberg's dinosaurs looking _so_ lifelike that it sparked an internet conspiracy theory about dinosaurs still roaming the Earth, which technically is true, but as far as you all are concerned, y'all don't know shit! And you're seriously telling me that a fucking eleven-foot dinosaur that had a grudge match in broad daylight is a fucking hoax?!" I was pissed off to say the least. I had a lot on my mind as it was, including my own untimely demise, so the absolute last thing I needed was some asshole brushing off the abduction of my best friend as mere fantasy.

As I stood there listening to the news reporter, I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier. My heart began pounding against the inside of my ribcage, and a growl rumbled in my chest as I was also being reminded of all the other things I had to worry about. Not only was Adryen kidnapped, but they got to Asia and Taiyo, too. Then there was Doctor Light, Raven, my mother, Kendall, I was seriously in a bad way, that is until Raven intervened.

Just as I was about to black out from rage, I felt a cool, soothing sensation washing over my body. It was so relaxing that while I was still pissed, it was impossible for me to stay super furious. Before I could look into the relaxing feeling, I stretch my hands and fingers (I had them clenched as fists a moment ago), and it was then that I noticed that my wolf claws had formed at the ends of my fingers. My rage was so great that I lost control for a moment. Ashamed and disappointed in myself for allowing that to happen, I Change my hands to their human form, and it was then I noticed that my body was encased in a black aura, Raven's aura. Just as she had done earlier, she was using her aura to pet me, except this time she was comforting me.

I turn behind me to see Raven, still in her chair with her book, but looking directly at me. I nod my head to her as a "thank you", but then break eye contact as I look towards the floor. I was still angry, and now I was also embarrassed and ashamed. I was more than willing to stand there in shame for a while longer, but I looked back up at Raven when I noticed her walking up to me.

"That's one of your friends, isn't it", she began asking me. "The Elementals? The ones that were taken?" I nodded my head slowly in response. "What's his name?" I took a deep breath before answering. Partially to keep myself calm from my rage, but also because secretly deep down I felt like I was going to cry, and I refused to let Raven witness that.

"His name is Adryen. Adryen Rivers, Elemental Prince of Water and my very best friend, has been since we were two. And now, he's gone."

"We will find him. There's still time."

_Yeah, but not much of it_, I thought to myself.

"It's too soon for you to give up yet. After all, they haven't yet", she said as she pointed to the t.v. behind me. The screen news had pulled away from the reporter for a moment and showed citizens of Kenya building what looked like a memorial-like shrine to Adryen, with several signs referring to him as Kubehari. "What does that mean, anyway", asked Raven in reference to the recurring Swahili word as she now stood by my side.

"It's what the locals refer to as their Water Guardian. It's comprised of the two Swahili words, "Kubeba", meaning "bear", and "Bahari", meaning "sea"."

"Clever. So why Africa?"

"Hmmm?"

"What was in Africa? Why aren't you with your team?"

"Long story short, as Elementals, we're tasked with duty of protecting the Earth. Eventually we came to the conclusion of splitting up, to expand our territories, with each of us claiming a continent as our territory. Adryen and Megan took residency in Nairobi, Kenya, as the Guardians of Africa."

"Who's Megan?"

"Elemental Princess of Water and Adryen's fiancee."

"Is she okay?"

"She's in hiding, along with the other Elementals that managed to escape."

"Yes, but is she _okay_? Are any of them okay for that matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I haven't seen you once try to contact them, or even mention them all that much."

"For their safety I've asked them not to seek me out. As for me, I'm keeping contact with them limited." Upon hearing me say that she chuckles a moment before responding.

"You're just like Robin."

"How do y—", I began.

"Look, I understand you want to protect your friends, but take it from someone with experience, you need them and they need you. I'm sure they'd like to know you're okay, especially after already losing some of your team already. I know it's a bit of a gamble, especially if your team is being targeted. But then again you don't even know if they're safe if you don't contact them, nor do they know if you're safe. Put their minds and yours at ease. The last thing you want to do is keep them worrying too much, especially if any of them are as stubborn as you are." I snorted a little upon her saying that, but Raven just chuckled it off. "Trust me, just call them", she said as she pointed to the pay phone just outside the store. "I'll be right behind you", she then said as she turned to walk over to the checkout line.

_*Sigh, she__'__s right_, I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. _So cute when she__'__s demanding._ With my anger now leaning more towards concern, worry, and being upset, I found myself wanting to talk to my friends even more. Between Silkie's wakeup call, my beef with Starfire, that long-ass memory sequence, nearly drowning trying to call Kendall, and all of the other bullshit I had to deal with in the mall, I had a long day.

I walked over to the pay phone and noticed that there were no walls or anything of that sort surrounding it. Plus there were lots of people around, so there was no way for me to have a private conversation, at least without some help. Once I got to the phone, and when nobody was looking, I used my powers to form an invisible shield around me and the phone, but I made it soundproof.

"Good, a little privacy", I said to myself. I had just picked up the receiver when I noticed a small child watching me. He apparently watched me making the shield, which I didn't mind too much since the people of Jump City would eventually learn of me and my powers anyway. What did bother me was he was alone and around the age of ten, making him yet another unattended child. He wore a red baseball hat, had curly, brown hair, and had a bag of popcorn in his hands. If he was riding a bike or tricycle he'd look like a real-life counterpart of that tricycle kid from "The Incredibles".

Annoyed at him being unsupervised, I read his mind. While there, I learned the identity of his parents. I then looked out past him to see that both of his parents were all the way back where I first turned the corner from the food court to get to the bookstore. They were conversing with three other adults just shooting the breeze. Five adults, and not one of them was paying any attention to this one ten-year-old boy. I didn't really have the time or patience to deal with the situation directly, so I took a different approach. Since my shield was designed to where I can hear the rest of the world, but they couldn't hear me, I tweaked it a little so that only the boy could hear me. Once I did, I Changed my eyes from brown to red, and grew my extra six red eyes as well. I then let out a loud roar hoping to scare the child, which I did. As I had hoped, the boy then drops his popcorn and runs back to his parents in fear.

"Eh, works for me", I said with a shrug. I then rebuilt my shield, paid for my call with my credit card, and dialed the E-Mergency Line. There was another message waiting for me, only this time it was from Francesca.

"Fernando, you little…", she began in irritation as she began cursing me out in Spanish. I then heard the sound of the phone being snatched away from her by her fiancee.

"Sorry about that", began Ryan. "She's just worried, that's all. Just, you know, call us back", he pleaded while trying to stay calm. The message ends right there as he hung up. I then prepared to leave a message of my own, but I was interrupted, again, by Francesca.

"Fernando?"

"Huh? Frankie, is that you?" She responded by continuing to curse me out once again. "Whoa whoa whoa, Frankie, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! You with your "do not seek me out" message, we were worried sick about you!"

"Speaking of the E-Line, I have a question. How are we talking right now? I thought this thing was designed to only take and give messages." I then heard a button click on her end, followed by Yea Seul's voice.

"You can thank me for that."

"How you doing, Yea Seul?"

"I'm holding up okay."

"Wait a second, am I on a speaker phone right now?"

"Yup", replied Frankie.

"Where are the others?" Taking my hint, Frankie then lets out a feline bellow to summon the other three Elementals. I waited a moment as I heard the replying sounds of a few other animals and the sound of people rushing to the phone. Once I was certain everyone was there, I spoke again. "Elementals, sound off." The five mutants on the other end of the phone knew exactly what to do, as they each stated their first name one by one in the chronological order of the Elemental Chain of Command from top to bottom.

"Andre."

"Yea Seul."

"Ryan."

"Francesca."

"Megan."

"Very good", I responded. "Nice to hear your voices."

"And to you as well, Hermano", said Megan.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah", began Ryan (model of patience as usual). "How's Jump City?"

"Wait, what", I responded defensively.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"How could you have possibly known that?"

"We took heed to your message", began Andre. "Taiyo and Adryen may be the brains of our operation, but Yea Seul's a close second."

"It wasn't too difficult. I simply did some digging on the one you called, Doctor Light, which led to a series of newspaper articles about several failed attempts at bank robberies in Jump City."

"I see. Guess I left you more information than I realized", I said with a chuckle.

"Fernando", began Megan. "We've been watching the news. Is there any new information about Adryen yet?"

"No, not yet. And honestly, I wouldn't bank on it. In case it hasn't reached you all yet, the news stations are deeming Adryen's existence as a hoax."

"Well that's bullshit", replied Ryan.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"What about that ring of young heroes there", asked Andre. "The ones called the Teen Titans."

"It's funny you bring that up, Adonis. I ran into them shortly after arriving here, and they recruited me."

"So you're a Titan now", asked Frankie.

"Does, that make us Titans, too", asked Yea Seul to Frankie.

"Do you think they can help us", continued Andre.

"I do. They're a skilled group of individuals with knowledge of and experience with our enemies."

"Ene_mies_", asked Frankie. "I thought you said we were attacked by that Doctor Light guy."

"True, but there's more. Remember those masked men you mentioned, Andre?"

"Yeah."

"Well I noticed that they also got to Adryen as well. Whoever these men are, they seem to be equipped with great power, enough to block our auroras, which is how they got to Adryen, and presumably the others."

"What are you saying? That you don't think they're with Doctor Light?"

"Not entirely. Though they may be working _with_ him, I can assure you that they do not work _for_ him. I fought Doctor Light. He, too may be powerful, but as a villain, he's just a broken and disturbed little man. These masked men must work for someone else. I'm starting to believe that they and Doctor Light are merely henchmen."

"What makes you say that", asked Megan.

"I ran into another villain just before the last time I called you. One called, Johnny Rancid." I then heard Yea Seul typing on a laptop.

"Johnny Rancid…. he's another Jump City villain."

"Exactly. And he mentioned that he was sent to finish what Doctor Light couldn't."

"So this isn't merely coincidence", began Andre.

"Yeah, something's up", added Ryan.

"I agree, which is why I'm staying here for now."

"Perhaps one of us should take your place in the city", suggested Yea Seul. "You're already weaker than the rest of us."

"No. You must all stay there. With my narrow escape, it's only a matter of time until Doctor Light seeks me out again. If he finds me here, then I can take him head on with the Titans, as opposed to leading him to our safe house."

"But we have to do _something_", exclaimed Frankie. "We can't just sit here and do nothing! They took Asia! Not to mention our men", she added as if speaking for both Yea Seul and Megan.

"I understand that, Frankie but we're in over our heads here. We have no idea what we're up against or what our enemies are after, and even in my current state I would sooner sacrifice myself before I blindly send any of you into battle, especially any of you ladies. I know you're angry but you've got offspring to protect."

"Not me", added Megan. "I have no cubs, nor am I in any kind of weakened state. Send me to Jump City, and let me tear the good Doctor to shreds."

"That may be true, Megan. But you're forgetting one thing, you, Yea Seul, and Frankie all lack Elemental magic."

"Magic, shmagic. I can hold my own just as easily as you and the others can. Me and Yea Seul once took down a tank with our bare hands, or don't you remember?"

"I remember, but this is different."

"How so?"

"He's right, Megan", began Andre. "You ladies may be powerful, but again, we know nothing of our enemies. They single-handedly captured three Elementals, weakened a fourth, and forced the remaining five of us into hiding. At this point in time, we're in no position to save anyone." Megan goes quiet for a moment, but then lets out a loud and angry growl as I hear her slam something.

"Believe me, Megan, I understand how you must be feeling. I miss him, too. But I promise, we'll get him back. We just have to be safe in the meantime, and stick together."

"Promise me", she said as her voice started to break.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Alright. So what's the plan?"

"Right now we have to cover our bases. But before we get to that I have to ask, how are the little ones fairing?"

"The cubs are fine", began Ryan.

"But my calves miss their daddy", added Yea Seul.

"And what of your individual families?"

"They are currently on high alert", began Andre. "But with us in hiding, our enemies no longer see them as targets. It seems that they have no interest in them. However, all family members of each family have been accounted for and checked up on, except for yours."

"Yeah, we didn't get any distress calls from them", said Ryan.

"And of course, they don't particularly like us, so we've gotten no responses from them either", added Frankie.

"I can assure you, they'll be fine", I said.

"Really? How do you know for certain?"

"I just know."

"They've probably done their homework", suggested Andre. "If they truly are targeting us, they must know that Fernando has no connection to the Adams Pack."

"Maybe, but that's never stopped our more serious enemies before", said a suspicious Ryan.

"What are you saying", asked Megan.

"I'm saying, that there's something our Alpha isn't telling us."

"No, Ryan, I—", I began. I stopped once I felt Ryan's presence. He was reading my mind. I could've kept him out if I really wanted to, but there was no point in continuing to lie to him.

"I knew it! I just fucking knew it!"

"What? What happened, Babe?"

"That bitch abandoned him!" That response caused a series of shocked and concerned animal cries from my associates. I roared in response when I noticed them getting out of hand. They responded with silence.

"I'm fine, Guys. Let's just focus on our friends first."

"Wait a second, Hermano", began Megan. "I may be in love with Adryen, but you're in trouble right now. Where are you staying?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm a Titan now, and fortunately for my sake the employment has its benefits. As long as I remain a Titan, my residence is in Jump City. Trust me, I'm okay. That said, with my mother finally accomplishing her goal of getting rid of me, she has broken all contact and connections with me, freeing her, my father, and Ximenez as targets."

"Well when I see her, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind", added Ryan.

"I'm sure you will."

"Okay, now that that is settled….", began Andre. "….what's our plan of action?"

"Well like I said, we have to cover our bases. I'll stay here and gather any information I can…."

"And get your strength back", added Yea Seul.

"Yes, that, too. In the meantime, I have tasks for you all as well."

"We're all ears, Dude", said Ryan.

"Good. Ryan, I need you to network to every ally the Elementals have. Every werewolf, every beast in the Horde, every mutant we've got. Put them on high alert. Until this battle is won, everyone is in danger."

"Check. Should I alert all of your other siblings as well? After all, some of them are human."

"Yes, and you've just reminded me of something, too. Part of my recruitment process with the Titans was to make a list of emergency contacts. Add Grace Wilson to your list of networks, and make her the first person you call. After her, I want you to contact Belle, Maria, Kelsey, and Melody. With them in the Titans' systems, they may be contacted if things get out of hand, so give them a heads up.

"You got it."

"Yea Seul, with Taiyo and Adryen gone, I'm going to need you to step up as the brains of the operation. Use your techno and hacking skills and see if you can find any other archives or data on Jump City's villains. People to keep my eye on, people with connections, anything you can find."

"Check."

"Frankie and Megan, I need you two to help out Ryan with networking to our allies, specifically the humans and those with children. I also want you two to start establishing an emergency plan involving evacuations and protected hiding. With so many of us spread across the world, we are at our most vulnerable."

"Check", they replied in unison.

"And as for you Andre", I began.

"Yes, my prince?"

"I have three important tasks for you. The first one is obvious. I need you to continue to look after and supervise our family. As my second in command you will be the one they look up to in my absence, especially now. The second is to keep your eye on the news and internet about international events. With all of us in hiding, our individual territories are defenseless. If anything goes down, relay that information to me immediately."

"Check and check. And what is the third task you have for me?"

"I want you to skip ahead of Ryan's networking and find Kendall."

"Kendall", asked Frankie. "As in the witch, Kendall?"

"That's correct."

"Why her", asked Ryan.

"Well for one she is an ally of ours, is she not?"

"True, but she's never truly _with_ us either", added Megan in reference to the fact that Kendall lives in shadow, as in we never know where she is or when we'll ever see her again.

"There must be a reason why you're asking me to find her, isn't there?"

"There is."

"She had a vision, didn't she", asked Ryan.

"She did. She contacted me earlier today, and I think she may be involved somehow. Find her, and send her to me."

"Check".

"Very good. Also, Guys, because I'm currently an active target, I will be off the grid in terms of communication outside of the E-Line, so any information, messages, concerns, anything at all goes through Andre, understand?"

"Of course", said Yea Seul.

"Can do", added Megan.

"No problem", added Frankie. Ryan simply snarled in agreement.

"Very good. And just, be safe, Guys, okay? I don't want to lose any more of you."

"We will", said Andre. "Just promise us you'll do the same."

"I promise. Take care, everyone." And with that, I hung up the phone and deactivated my shield. Though it was nice to hear from my friends again, I was still very much upset with everything that was going on.

"You okay", asked Raven as she walked up to me.

"I didn't keep you waiting too long did I?"

"I asked you first." I chuckle for a moment before answering.

"I'm fine. Just, kinda drained."

"That's understandable. And no, you didn't keep me for too long. We still have plenty of time."

"Time for what?" Raven, with the plastic bag containing the book she just bought in her hand, then turns to my left towards where the mall's hallway stopped with an exit door at the end.

"Come with me", she says simply as she motions her head to the exit and begins walking. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about the way she said that one little phrase, "come with me", sent shivers up my spine.

_If you only knew. I__'__d follow you pretty much anywhere._


	22. True Nature

I followed Raven to the end of the hall and out of the exit at the end. Once outside, I noticed a sort of bazaar-like area in the courtyard in front of us. There was another exit that lead from the bazaar to the sidewalk and streets off to the right, but the rest of the courtyard was just booths and vendors everywhere selling all kinds of merchandise.

"Um, where are we going? Where are you taking me, Raven?"

"You'll see", she responded as she pulls up her hood, instantly changing her appearance from beautiful and cute, to mysterious and sexy. She then rises into the air, looking down at me when she noticed me hesitating. "You coming?" I then took a moment to look around at the nearby people. Most of them didn't care, probably from being used to seeing Raven flying around the city on a regular basis, but a few of them stopped to see what I would do to follow her.

"Yeah, I'm coming", I said as I looked back up at her and prepared to Change. _Blindimon armor-digivolve to__…__. Gizamon, the Wolf of Faith!_ With my Change now complete, I flap my wings and fly up to meet Raven. "Allow me", I said to her as I reached for her bag with the offer of carrying it for her. She hesitated for a moment, but gave me her bag once she realized what I was doing. Once that was out of the way, I spoke to her again as I said, "lead on."

"This way", she says with a nod before banking to my left, with me flying right by her side. We flew about four blocks South of the mall before Raven came to a stop as she hovered over a not-so-tall building which was completely pitch black. "We're here", she said as she descended towards the ground. I slow my wings down gradually as I descend along with her. Once we landed, it was then I noticed that it was a cafe she brought me to.

"Gothic City", I asked her as I read the name of the building.

"Trust me, you'll love it", said Raven as she walks past me towards the entrance. I rise to my hind paws and follow behind her. When we reached the cafe, there was an employee there waiting for us. Every piece of clothing he wore, as well as his long hair, was as black as the cafe itself, and he wore black eyeliner, eye shadow, nail polish, and lipstick. This guy had so much added makeup and shit that I couldn't tell if he was a goth or a mime.

"Welcome to Gothic City", began the employee in a voice so unenthusiastic and droll that it made Raven's monotone sound like one of the Chipmunks. "We ask that you please silence all cell phones, be courteous to your neighbor, and cease all talking while performers are performing. We also ask that you leave all pets at home", he says as he looks towards me. Now he was just being a dick. At least when Sweeney thought I was just a regular animal I was on all fours at the time, which in that respect justifies his comments. But I stood before this depressing mime not only as a wolf, but a bigger-than-normal wolf on two legs, a large almost lion-like mane, and wings on my back, and he blatantly still called me a pet.

"He's not a pet. I invited him", said Raven.

"Whatever", said the mime. I didn't even have to Change back to my human form, he just went with it. He then steps away from his little podium thing and opens the door for us. "Please enjoy your visit to Gothic City."

_Dude, for God__'__s sake, lighten up_, I thought to myself as we walked by him and into the cafe. Once we were inside, I Changed back to my human form. I didn't think that walking into a cafe as a 6 1/2 foot winged werewolf was too intelligent of an idea.

The inside of the cafe was, for lack of a better word, depressing. The walls were all painted black, the windows each had three layers of blackout curtains, the entire cafe was lit up with only three ceiling lamps (one at the counter, one at the entrance, and the third on the stage), and more than 90% of the people (employees included), were dressed in outfits and makeup similar to the mime just outside.

_I'm pretty sure this is where coulrophobia comes from_, I think to myself as I felt completely out of place. Raven then led me over to a table by the stage. We had arrived at a good time because the table we selected to sit at, in comparison to the others, was the perfect spot for observing the stage. It was in the section of tables that were right in front of the stage, but was directly in the middle of all of the others (not too far up front, not too far in back). Once I was certain I knew which table Raven was leading me to, I teleported ahead of her and pulled her chair out for her. Her response consisted of a small grin and a nod as she swept her cloak from behind her as she sat down so that she wouldn't sit on it. Upon seeing her do so, the world slowed down again. Normally this sort of thing didn't bother me all that much, but in this case I felt a bit of shame. This was because the world slowed down just as Raven was sweeping her cloak from under her rear, which allowed me to look directly at it for a while. I knew I shouldn't have been gawking at her behind like that, and looking back I still feel guilty that I did, but I just couldn't help it, it was right there. I soon snapped out of it when I noticed that I was starting to _react _again, which made me anxious to get to my seat before Raven noticed. When I sat down, I noticed that the table had two of those little electronic computer things you often saw at restaurants like Red Robin.

"In case you missed it, the staff here aren't really social, at all", said Raven as she pointed to her electronic menu. As I looked through mine, I started to get hungry all over again (ungrateful stomach). Again, not wanting to look like a pig, I thought of a sneaky way to find out what Raven was ordering first.

"So many choices", I began as I flipped through the pages. "What do you recommend?" Raven then leans over to my menu and selects my order for me. She and I were both having Alfredo pasta bowls and a raspberry scone. A bit of an odd order, but I didn't question it or complain, I enjoyed both pasta and scones. The menu then asked us for our drinks. I would later find out that Raven ordered her some herbal tea. As for me, I switched it up a little. _Let__'__s see here__…__. water, coffee, chocolate milk, boring. Ooooh! Japanese-style green tea_, I thought to myself as I clicked the respective button and completed my order. The screen said that our food would be ready in a few minutes. I looked up from my screen and noticed Raven was looking at the stage, so I turned my attention there as well. There was a girl on stage reciting poetry she wrote. She was on stage when we first walked in, but I wasn't really paying attention to her, in fact I still wasn't. No disrespect to her, but my mind was still racing about the Elementals and what my next plan of action was. I knew what my associates could do, but as for what I was supposed to do, I was stumped. Until I could thoroughly think of a plan, my only hope was that Andre found Kendall and sent her to Jump City.

My thoughts are interrupted as I noticed the performer walking off the stage. The patrons in the cafe, Raven included, all began snapping, which I guess was how they applauded. Wanting to look like I was paying attention, I snapped as well.

"Don't worry, they get better", said Raven with a chuckle as she leaned over to me. The next performer then made his way to the stage. I would describe what he looked like, but because of the "dress code" of this cafe, he looked exactly like everybody else, so there wasn't anything remotely interesting or unique about him. The only thing I could tell you was that he looked to be about the age of fourteen.

_Okay, I should probably listen to this guy_, I thought to myself, thinking that it'd look really bad if I spaced out the entire time. The gothic teen then began to read his poetry.

Life,

What is the point of life?

_Gee, he seems like a barrel of laughs_, I thought as I began commentating in my head.

Is it to work?

Or perhaps to play?

Who cares? We're all dead anyway.

_Speak for yourself, Kid._

And then school?

More like, church for fools.

_Say what?_

To "learn"?

I mean who actually "learns" anymore?

_I don__'__t even know how to respond to that._

Here's a little something that doesn't make sense

They teach us to "learn"

But not how to use common sense

_Because that__'__s how the fuck common sense works, you moron!_ I don't really remember the rest of his "poem", I just remember that I was screaming at him in my head the entire time. Immediately following his performance were three other performers. All of them young high school-aged children, if not younger, all of them dressed like clowns, all of them complaining over some whiny, spoiled brat bullshit. One talked about "the politics" of his gym class, and another dedicated her poem to the hatred she had for her school principal. The only one that kinda grabbed my attention was one from a boy who looked to be about sixteen talking about bullying, and how he felt bullied by his parents. However, my sympathy for him went out the window when he started complaining about his curfew, the fact he has no car, the fact he was forced to get a job, and a bunch of other crap.

_Dude, shut the Hell up. I was quite literally raised by wolves, both of whom have tried to kill me in the past. But by all means, tell me again about how unfair and terrible your life is because you have to be in bed by 10:00._ As the whiny teenager left the stage and the audience snapped, I glanced over at the clock that hung on the wall nearby and noticed it was 5:30 pm. _Wow, these kids talked for a while. And our food isn__'__t here yet either._ Raven, as if she could read my mind (as usual), broke the silence.

"Having fun?"

"Not really", I began hesitantly. "No offense, but this place is a drag. Remind me why we came here again?" I soon felt guilty for saying that to her the way I did. She invited me here with her, and for all I knew this was her favorite hangout spot. _Fucking smooth, Fernando_, I scolded to myself.

"Tell me, are you depressed now?" I hesitate again before responding.

"Um, huh. Actually, no, no I'm not."

"_That_ is why I brought you here."

"What do you mean?"

"They say that "there's always somebody who has it worse than you", and that you should always remember that when you think you're having a bad day. As for me, I like to look at things a little differently. Every week I come here to witness and listen to Gothic City's open mic performances. I sit here for hours at a time, surrounded by the dark, depressing atmosphere, terrible customer service, all while listening to and laughing at the whiny complaining of young children who don't know the first thing about hurt, pain, or even the real world in general for that matter. But in doing so, I get to see my own life in a different perspective. It allows me to realize that although my problems may knock me down, and I can never let them keep me down, at least not for long, otherwise I'll end up like those kids. I come here not because I enjoy the cafe itself, I come here because it provides a nice confidence boost, and occasionally a few good laughs. And each time I leave here, I leave feeling more confident in myself than I did when I arrived. We will find your friends. You helped us with the H.I.V.E. Five, so let us help you. That is what friends are supposed to do for each other, right?" I was stunned. Raven just kept finding more and more ways to surprise me again and again, making me fall for her even more.

"You, are, brilliant."

"Well I do appreciate the compliment." I chuckled for a moment before speaking again.

"Seriously though, thank you."

"Anytime." It was around that time that our food finally arrived.

"Here", said the gothic waitress in yet another unenthused voice. Normally that would've bothered me greatly, but after knowing what Raven did in bringing me to this cafe and the fact that she did so to comfort and make me feel better, I was in _way_ too good a mood to let it get to me.

The following three and a half hours consisted of Raven and I enjoying a nice dinner while we secretly laughed at the whiny children that performed onstage. We would also, during the occasional breaks in between performers, exchange stories about adventures we've had. Though I didn't harp on it or think about it too much, I found it a little weird that the villains Raven mentioned in her stories this time (Slade, Mumbo, Killer Moth, Control Freak, and Mad Mod), were the exact same ones from when we were exchanging stories in Box Elder, they were just different stories than the ones from last time.

Feeling obligated to talk about new stories, even though I knew that the day I spent with her at Box Elder didn't truly happen, I told her about some of my other siblings, those I met after South Dakota. Though I gave her the short version, I basically explained, continuing from where I left off from telling her about the places I've lived (again, even though it didn't really happen), that after my freshman year, my family and I relocated to Ramstein, Germany, where I would graduate high school three years later.

I told her about how I spent the first half of my sophomore year hiding my mutation from my classmates. I told her about how soon after I revealed myself, more and more of my peers were revealing themselves as closet animagi and eventually deemed me as Alpha. As a result, we formed an animal horde, well not at first, anyway. At first, it was only a small group of other werewolves calling me Alpha. However, as time went on, the Ramstein Pack got bigger and bigger, until eventually animagi of various other species began to join us one by one, making what was once strictly a pack of werewolves, into what we now refer to as our Horde. This was the public-friendly version of the story I gave to Raven. The truth of the matter was, much like how my Patriot Pack obtained their powers, 90% of the mutants that made up the Horde were born human, and the origins of their powers is much darker than what I implied, but I didn't think a date with Raven was the best time to share that. I did however tell her about a group of people I rather enjoyed talking about, my siblings.

I reexplained how I'd gained a great many sisters, brothers, and cousins due to both the military and mutant communities, and how we fought, trained, and lived among each other as a family for the three years I attended Ramstein High. Having already mentioned April, Sammie, Nathaniel, Amy, Isaac, Charlie, and Ximenez, and with both Dakota and Jadzia having also been met in South Dakota, I talked about two of my cousins, my other two brothers, and nine of my twelve unmentioned sisters, the mutants. My two cousins, both younger than me, consisted of a bald eagle named Monica, and a black swan named Keira. My two older brothers consisted of a white standard poodle named Seth, and an orangutan named Manny. As for the nine sisters, I had two older, and seven younger. The two older ones consisted of a saltwater crocodile named Sandra, and a platypus named Alexis. As for my seven younger sisters, three of them were she-wolves named Alyssa, Samantha B., and Kalynn. The other four consisted of a great white shark, a Siberian tigress, an anaconda, and a warthog named Samantha K., Selina (though she preferred to be called Dax), Amanda, and Krystie. I was about to mention my human siblings, when the announcement about the cafe closing was made over an intercom.

"Attention, Gothic City patrons: the time is now 9:00 pm. At this time, we ask that you leave the cafe immediately. Thank you for your patronage, and have a good evening", said one of the employees.

"Wow, and they were so polite before", I said sarcastically. Raven chuckles for a moment as I teleport over behind her again to pull her chair out for her.

"Such a gentleman", she says as she rises to her feet.

"I do what I can", I said with a wink, hoping that it would reference to when she winked at me a couple of nights ago. Raven then blushes as she pulls her hood back down and begins to walk towards the exit. Upon doing so, she pauses and looks back at me in a sort of seductive way. I can't really explain it other than to say she wanted me to follow her, and I sure as Hell wasn't going to ignore it.

I followed her out of the cafe, where she waited for me to join her. She didn't really have any other plans to take me anywhere else, as indicated by how we awkwardly, yet flirtatiously looked at each other as we stood outside of the closed cafe behind us. That said, I decided to take the lead as I walked around to her right, on the outside of the sidewalk, and led her to our left as we walked down the street. As we walked, we changed the topic of conversation to the whiny kids we were listening to. We wound up walking and laughing for about a good two hours or so, but because of how much I was enjoying just being with Raven, it felt more like minutes. We eventually come to a stop when we reach a string of hotels. I then take a page from Raven's book, at least the Raven from my Box Elder memory, and float up towards the roof of one of the hotels, stopping halfway to make sure Raven was following me, which she was.

The hotel I had chosen was about ten stories high, the roof was completely empty, and it had a great view of the night sky, making it the perfect spot to be alone with Raven. Raven and I then sat down at the edge of the roof, just as we had back at the Tower and just enjoyed each other's company for a while in silence. About a half hour later, Raven broke the silence.

"I must say, this is probably the most enjoyable Monday I've had in a while."

"Yeah, a lot of excitement for just one day. Feels almost like two days have passed", I say with a chuckle as a sort of inside joke to myself in reference how time slowed down when I was transported into the world of my memories. Raven giggles again before responding.

"You're more complex than you seem, Fernando."

"I hope that's a good thing."

"What I mean is, there's so much more to you than meets the eye. Your knowledge of Tamaran, the power you possess and the control you have over it, your tolerance of Beast Boy, you're full of surprises."

"That's funny, I was thinking the same thing about you."

"Oh really?"

"Absolutely. You yourself are an intriguing individual. I would love to hear more about your place of birth, this Azarath."

"How'd you know it was called Azarath?"

"Lucky guess?"

"Hmmm. Well, in any case, there's not much to tell. Besides, I'm of no importance to my home", she began in a sort of depressive tone, though she quickly played it off. "Unlike you, "Prince of Darkness"", she says with a grin.

"Naw, I'm just your average nice guy", I say jokingly as if trying to downplay the significance of my birth. "Speaking of", I begin as I look at the clock on my communicator in response to an idea I just had. It was 11:40 pm. "Be right back", I said as I slid forward off the roof and Changed into my armored form. I turn right as I fly towards the 50s-looking drive-in burger joint that was one block away and across the street from the hotel. It was simply called, "Burgers". "Time to make good on our deal", I say to myself as I come in for a landing in the parking lot. A few of the patrons gasped in shock and awe as they noticed the large winged wolf then Change into a person, but I didn't care, so I ignored them. I then walked up to the counter and ordered a small milkshake to go. Less than five minutes later I Change back into Gizamon and fly back towards the hotel, with the milkshake in my paw. _In and out in less than ten minutes, BOOM!_

"What's that", asks Raven as I hover in front of her.

"Milkshake Monday", I say jokingly with a grin as I hand her the milkshake. With her having no memory of the bet we made, I had to come up with an excuse for buying it for her. I had just finished Changing back to Blindimon and taking my seat next to Raven, though I was feeling kinda ballsy and chose to sit even closer to her than I previously did, when Raven took her first sip through the straw.

"Mmmmmm", she says softly, yet hypnotically and seductively. "You must grow tired of being right all the time", she says to me sarcastically.

"I take it you like strawberry then?"

"I love it", she says as she sips again. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this?"

"No need to. Like I said, I'm just a nice guy", I said as I leaned back using my arms to hold up my body. Raven then scoots toward me a little bit more, until our legs, specifically our thighs, were touching. In response to this I begin to _react_, so I then decide to sit back up in an attempt to hide it. This also turned out to be a benefit because by sitting up again, now our shoulders were touching. We were close enough to each other to where, if either of us really wanted to, we could lean our heads on each other's shoulder. My heart continued to race as it staggered Raven's yet again. I was nervous as Hell, yet I was happy and content with where I was. I was enjoying a nice, quiet evening with my crush, close together, under the stars, alone. What more could I ever want? However, like all good things, our moment together came to an end when I heard a familiar voice.

The voice was muffled, due to the distance, so I couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but I could recognize its source. The voice I heard was accompanied by the laughter of two others. It was Flash and his friends, and they were nearby.

"What is it", asked Raven as she noticed my ears twitching to the sound of their voices. Without answering her I Change to my wolf form and stalk over to another edge of the roof. Down below I saw the three college students pointing at something down the street and quietly laughing amongst each other. I look down the street in the direction that they are pointing to see the hospital we had passed on the next block. Walking out of the front door was a woman. The fact that she still wore her scrubs told me that she was a nurse, which I would've realized even without the scrubs, because I recognized the woman anyway. It was Liv, from the night Cyborg recruited me.

As Liv walks out of the hospital, she turns to her left and walks further down the street. It was at that moment I overheard one of the college guys down below whisper, "let's go". I then noticed that the three of them crossed the street and began to quietly stalk Liv as they began to increase their "walking" speeds, while at the same time making the effort to be silent about it. Assuming what might happen, though I hoped I was incorrect, I cloak myself in my aura and use my forced beholder spell to make myself appear invisible, though I was certain that Raven could probably still see me. Once I was concealed, I let out a loud howl.

Flash, his friends, and Liv all stopped in their tracks as they looked behind them trying to find the source of the howl they were hearing. Upon looking behind her, Liv noticed the three young men that were even closer behind her than before. It was at that moment that Flash and his goons locked eye contact with her. Flash then takes one more step towards her. Liv takes a step back in response. The three men take one more step towards her, and Liv responds by bolting. Even if her assumptions about the young men were incorrect, it wouldn't hurt her to run in this instance. Unfortunately, her assumptions were correct, as were mine. They wanted Liv for themselves. My heart began to race out of control as I stood there, frozen and unable to move.

_Come on! Move it! Go already_, I yell to myself as I jerked my body forward as if trying to get myself to move. _Why the Hell can__'__t I move_, I asked myself, though I already knew the reason. It was because of what was going on. Though this wasn't the first time I had to deal with the crime of rape, it was the first time I was ever in a situation to prevent it upfront. Usually I was hunting down rapists long after the incident. This time I was watching it unfold in front of me. I was frozen because all I could think about was April and how she must've felt when this happened to her. I also thought of Krystie, and Keira, who both had similar experiences. I was angry, and panicky, but I couldn't move. Liv was about to scream for help when Flash finally caught her and placed his hand over her mouth. He then goes on to grope her as his two friends begin to tear at her scrubs. Still unable to move, I growl instead.

"Fernando, what's wrong", asked a now concerned Raven. I don't exactly know why, but hearing Raven's voice restored the strength in my legs as I let out a snarl and leapt from the roof. Before I hit the ground, I teleport over to where the humans were (those sick motherfuckers didn't even make any effort to move Liv to an alley or anything. They were content with raping her in the middle of the sidewalk). Once there, my claws start flying immediately. My claws sliced through clothing and skin like butter as I separated Liv from her attackers. The three men stood before me as I growled at them ferociously with Liv seated behind me (she had fallen over). From there I heard Liv break the silence.

"It's you", she begins as I look back at her for a moment. "You're that dog." I simply nod my head in response.

"Oh, snap! Look, Boss", says the gothic goon. "Those eyes", he says as he points at his own eyes for emphasis. He remembered my wolf eyes from back in the food court.

"You're right", said Flash. "Our friend, Hobo Guy." I growled at him directly in response to him saying that. "Awww, what's wrong, Baby? Did I hurt your feelings", he asks mockingly as he pulls out a switch blade. Either this guy was bold or he was nuts. The goon with the dreads spoke up next.

"Whoa, hey, Boss, we gotta get outta here."

"What", he asks him angrily, temporarily ignoring me in the process.

"We gotta go. The bitch was one thing, but this dude is crazy. Let's get outta here." Flash then nods his head and opens his arms as if asking for a hug. Dreads hesitantly walks up to him and embraces him. The third goon and Liv just watched at the sight of this random hug out of nowhere. As for me, I was suspicious of the whole thing. I knew they had a history and that they were friends, and I knew that Dreads was trying to talk Flash down, but it didn't seem to require a hugging moment, nor did Dreads comment about how it was wrong to attack Liv the way they did.

_What are you up to_, I ask in my head. Flash then holds the back of Dreads' head with his free left hand and pulls it forward so he can whisper in his ear.

"You think the hobo is crazy, do you?" Before anyone could even think too far into that comment, Flash then steps away, his friend's head still in his grasp, and slices his knife across his throat. The black man's corpse then drops to the ground with a thud as his blood sprayed all over Flash's face. He then turns back to me and Liv slowly as he licks his lips. "Who's the crazy one now?" In response to this, the other goon tries to bolt for his life. "Oh, no you don't", says Flash as he turns behind him to see his "friend" running away. With the quarterback arm he was probably known for and the accuracy and aim of freaking Hawkeye, Flash throws the blade at him. The goon's body falls forward as the knife stabs him in the back of the head, killing him. Before Flash could turn back around, I turn back at Liv.

"Run", I say to her as I was unsure what Flash would do next. Liv then nods her head for a moment before scampering to her feet. As she started to run, Flash begins to pull out another knife, because reasons. As he reached for his knife, he began to run at her, again, ignoring the fucking werewolf that was standing in front of him. Before he had a chance to throw the knife, I lunged at him with a snarl and bit down on his wrist, causing him to drop the knife. I then drag him to the ground as I shake my head violently.

With his free fist, Flash punches me in the eye, fortunately it wasn't enough to blind me, just make me lose my grip on him. He scampers back to the knife and picks it up. Liv was long gone at this point, and I could handle a simple knife, so I wasn't too worried. He then yells as he charges at me with the knife. As he slashes at me, I leap high into the air, pinning him on his stomach as I landed on his back. Once again, he dropped the knife in response.

"Stay down", I growled at him.

"Never", he challenged me. He then reaches into his sock and pulls out another knife and shanks me with it. I roared in pain as he rolls from under me. I rise to my hind legs, wincing as I did so due to the knife still being wedged into the side of my torso. As I pulled out the knife, Flash picks up his second knife and reveals a fourth one from his other sock.

"Honestly, how many of those things do you have?"

"Plenty", he says with a chuckle while he licks his lips again. As he did so, I took a look into his mind, and became even more disgusted from what I saw.

Flash was the star quarterback for the Steel City Tigers, adored and loved by his community and football fans in general. However, when the final whistle blew and the game ended, he and his friends lived a secret life of harassment. With every knew town he visited, he raped another woman, threatening to kill his victims if they snitched while convincing them that nobody would believe their story due to his public image. Another thing that stood out to me was the women he targeted. They all were "women in uniform". Excluding Liv, who was a nurse, Flash had his way with four victims thus far. A rookie police officer, a lawyer, a therapist, and newly recruited Airmen, who upon digging further into his mind, I discovered took her own life because of him.

_It__'__ll be a _very_ cold day in Hell before I let this monster walk away free_, I thought to myself with an angry growl. With more displays of his accuracy, Flash then chucks his two knives at me, each aiming at one of my eyes. _Confusion_, I think to myself as both knives freeze in midair only a few inches from my face. It was then that Flash finally started to take me as a serious threat. "Impressive. Now let me show you what _I_ can do", I said as the two knives floated away from my face and turned their blades towards him. I then lifted my left arm out to my side while stretching the fingers of my right hand as it hung by my legs. In response to this, Flash's third knife floats up to join the other two, closely followed by his first knife as it is pulled out of his goon's skull. In response to seeing his four knives pointed at him, Flash finally decides to run. "Psychic attack", I shout as his body becomes encased in my aura, unable to move. Once there, I use my powers to position his body as if he was attached to that spinning wheel thing you see people strapped to at knife shows.

"No! No, please! Have mercy!" I ignored his cries as I prepared to fire the first knife.

"This one's for Krystie", I said in a serious voice as I snapped my fingers, thereby firing the first knife. It pierced right through Flash's right wrist, as if it was the first nail in a crucifixion. Anticipating Flash's screams, I quickly lift my wrist and touch the palm of my hand with my middle and ring fingers. In response to this, one of my spider webs shoots from my wrist and covers his mouth, muffling his screams of pain. Of course it's copyright infringement, but the truth of the matter is, my spider mutation allowed me to shoot webs from just about every part of my body. It was just more fun to take a page out of Spider-Man's book, especially since I was about to kill "Flash".

"And this one's for Keira", I said as the second knife pierces his other wrist. "And April", I continued as the third knife pierces his heart. I could see Flash crying as he wept over his untimely demise. He also tried to say something, but I ignored it. Most people I'd killed, I at least killed them with at least some form of decency or respect. As a natural-born hunter, I always made it a point to show some form of respect to my victims. However, Flash was so despicable that instead of showing him any respect, I wanted to instead make him suffer with as big an overkill as possible. That said, before I fired the last knife, I surrounded it with some of my electricity. I spoke once more as the volts sparked and danced on the metal knife. "And this one is for Liv, and all the other innocent women you've attacked. Farewell", I said finally as I snapped my fingers once more. The final knife pierced Flash's throat as his corpse shook from the voltage. When all signs of life had escaped his body, I released him. Soon after his body dropped to the ground, Raven broke the silence.

"Are you okay?" I was so riled up by Flash that I completely forgot about Raven, and now I worried about what she had just witnessed.

"How long have you been watching?"

"Since the first death", she said as she motioned over to the corpse with the dreads. My heart begins to race again, afraid of what Raven was thinking of me.

"I don't know what to say."

"Then don't."

"So, should I just turn my communicator in now, or…."

"There's no need."

"Really?" Raven simply nods her head. "None of this phases you", I asked as I motioned over the three dead bodies and the blood everywhere.

"Honestly, I've seen worse."

"Yeah, well, at least nobody views you as a monster."

"Not entirely true."

"What's that mean?"

"Let me ask you something", begins Raven, completely ignoring my question. "Why did you kill him the way you did? It's obvious this isn't the first time you've killed, and it's not the first time you've had to deal with people like him. What was different about this boy?" I took a deep breath before answering.

"I sensed something in him. Can't explain what it is or how I know, but something in him didn't seem right. I sensed a powerful darkness within him, but it wasn't like yours or mine. This one was evil. It was like all traces of innocence and purity were erased from his mind. All he knew was evil and hatred. I sensed it back at the mall, and I sensed it here, too. He differed from other men because I knew he couldn't change. It was too dangerous and risky to allow him to live. Does any of what I'm saying make any sense?"

"Yes, it does."

"So you're not upset?"

"I am, but not because of what you did."

"Then what?"

"I'm upset that this all happened tonight." She then offers me a tiny grin as she tried to remind me of the enjoyable evening we had up until that point. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"You realize of course that Robin and the others aren't going to be okay with this, right?"

"I do. But that doesn't mean you were in the wrong."

"What are you saying?"

"That I will face the others with you. I may not have killed that man, but I allowed you to, so if anything I am just as guilty."

"Thank you." Raven responds with a nod and a smile, but it immediately disappears when she notices something behind me. Without turning around, I twitch my ears and listen as I heard the sound of groaning. Flash, he was still alive. "Impossible." I quickly turned just in time to see Flash throw one of his knives at me, only this time it was glowing red.

"Look out", screams Raven she teleports in front of me and summons a shield using her aura. The cloaked knife cuts right through her shield and stabs Raven in the abdomen. She groans in pain as she clutches the knife with her hands. The knife loses its glow as she falls to the ground.

"Raven", I shout in shock. Flash then throws his other knives at us. With another roar, I reduce them to ash with a barrage of Shadow Balls. "I'm fucking sick of these things", I roared as I fired a bolt of lightning from my palm. The force of my attack sent Flash barreling back a few feet. Unfortunately, due to him continuing to groan as he tried to get up, it was far from over. Fortunately for him, he wasn't my top concern.

While he was recovering, I scoop up Raven in my arms and move her across the street. Once there, I place her on the ground. I then placed my right hand above the knife, still in her abdomen, as I prepared to yank it. But before I did, I offered Raven my other hand, as this maneuver was going to her hurt her, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. After she grabs my hand, I look at her as if to ask, "are you ready?". Raven, now looking frightened, nods her head, anxious to get it over with. I then rip out the knife as quickly as I could as Raven screamed in pain, crushing my hand as she did so.

As Raven struggled to catch her breath and I looked down at her abdomen. I saw the gash, and it was too big to pass off as a flesh wound. I still lacked the power to heal, so I revealed another secret my body kept, so secret that most of my associates didn't even know about it, and for those that did, I had them swear to keep it secret. I released Raven's hand and placed my left hand behind her head as I sat her up. I then sharpened my teeth and sliced my right wrist, encouraging blood to drip from it.

"Drink this", I said to her as I offered her my bleeding wrist.

"What…. what're you doing", she said. She was growing weaker by the second.

"It's a strawberry milkshake, just drink it", I said sternly due to my concern for her life. I then push Raven's head closer to my wrist as my blood begins to wash over her mouth and down her neck. She resists it at first, but eventually lets the blood trickle down her throat. I jump a little once the expected reaction takes hold of Raven. One minute she's drinking my blood calmly as she lets it drip, and the next she's grasping my wrist with her hands as she violently attempts to suck my veins dry. "Shhh, shhh", I say to her calmly as I forcefully, yet gently separate her from my wrist and lower her back to the ground. I was shocked by how quickly Raven accepted my denial of more blood.

You see, my very blood had healing properties in it, as well as in some other werewolf breeds, and the reason I keep it a secret was because the benefits from these properties came with a few catches. In addition to the instant healing, which was already beginning to work on Raven as shown by the fact that I could see the gash in her abdomen beginning to close, my blood was addictive. Whoever drink it, temporarily goes into a frenzy of an uncontrollable thirst. Once my blood touches your tongue, that's all you could think about, and the thought of not having any more drove you insane, as shown by how Raven basically attacked my wrist as she drank. The sensation that Raven felt was shared by vampires who couldn't control their thirst, which was why so many of them struggled to coexist with humans.

"Better", I asked Raven as she slowly started to catch her breath again.

"Better", she replies with a nod. I chuckle a moment before speaking again.

"How was it?"

"Not bad. A little too much on the sweet side though." The two of us laugh for a moment, completely forgetting that Flash was just across the street from us. It didn't matter though, he hated being ignored, and he made that very clear as he snuck up behind me, grabbed my shoulder, and threw me backwards. His throw was enough to hurl me back to the other side of the street. He ignores Raven and charges at me again before I even had the chance to get up. He then grabs me by my throat and pins me to the wall of a nearby building. I tried to Change or use some of my powers, but his hand was cloaked in that weird red aura again. I was trapped.

"It's time to finish what I started", said Flash with a chuckle. It was at that point I noticed that the irises and pupils in his eyes had completely vanished, and his voice was much deeper and more distorted than before. I growled at him in response, though I was in no position to be so bold.

"Let, him, go", said a now pissed off Raven with her hood up as she stood in the middle of the street behind Flash, catching the both of us by surprise. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", she shouts as she fires a stream of dark energy at Flash. As he screamed in pain, his grip on me loosened, allowing me to Change into Mambamon and slither away. Flash then surrounds himself with the red aura again as he faces Raven.

"You've interfered for the last time!"

"No matter", she responded. "You won't be here much longer anyway", she said as she used her power to immobilize him. After that she lifts him into the air and pulls him towards her. "Go away, and stay away!" Raven then reveals her true nature. Her cloak, with her still in it, then sort of stretches like a shadow as if she and the cloak were one and the same. The bottom of her cloak then unleashes what look like a great many tentacles made up of her dark energy. She then unveils her hood to reveal that she had a large set of horns (that kinda looked like antlers), had four more tentacles (this time real scaly ones as opposed to the dark energy ones) growing from her hair, and her four, iris-less, red eyes made a return appearance. She then sharpens her teeth as her mouth stretches up and around all of Flash's head until his entire head was in hear mouth. She then snaps her jaws shut as she decapitates him. As his dead, now headless, body drops to the ground yet again, Raven swallows Flash's head whole. She then lets out a small belch, then lets out a demonic roar (that had a bit of a hiss in it) in victory.

"Raven", I asked as I slithered up to her. Raven then gasps as if she had woken up from a nightmare as her extra eyes, horns, and tentacles instantly disappear without a trace. She then begins to shrink back down to her normal size as her violet irises returned to her original two eyes. Upon doing so, she gets dizzy and starts to fall over. In response to this I Change back to my human form and catch her. She was still weak from Flash's attack. As I carried her in my arms, she looks back up at me, pausing for a minute before speaking.

"None of this phases you", she asks me as if scared that I would think any differently of her. I shake my head in response.

"I've seen worse." Upon hearing me say that she smiles once more before drifting off to sleep. Once she was out, her white aura from before began to encase her body. She was healing herself. I smiled down at her upon seeing this, fortunate and relieved that she was going to be okay. The moment, however, was short lived once I took a look around us. Three dead humans, one of which was missing his head. "Let's go home", I whispered as I lifted us into the air. I could've easily Changed into Gizamon or traveled faster, but I didn't want to wake Raven. She had been through a lot.


	23. Resignation

Once we reached the Tower, I opened up a shadow portal and flew through it. Once there, I emerged into the Ops Room and reset Cyborg's security before it deemed us as intruders. I then opened another portal and snuck Raven back into her room. Once inside her room, I immediately walked up to her bed and placed her on it. I then slowly, and really, really carefully started to pull her cloak off for her, which was extremely difficult and tedious considering I didn't want to wake her up. I was just about to finish the process when Raven groaned, preparing to wake up. As she began to open her eyes, I leaned into her face and Changed my eyes to my wolf eyes.

"Shhhh. Sleep now, Raven. You need your rest", I whisper as I used my powers of hypnosis on her. Once she fell into an even deeper sleep, I pull off the rest of her cloak and tuck her into bed, taking note of the large hole in her leotard that revealed her navel and beautifully toned stomach. _Sorry about that,_ I said to myself as if I was to blame for her damaged uniform. I then noticed a hook by a mirror a few feet away from her bed. I walked over and hung her cloak from it. As it hung from the hook, I got a good look at all of the blood that she, Flash, and I contributed that stained it. I then look down at myself as I, too was covered in blood. "I need a shower, in the worst way." I was about to walk out into the hallway when I started to look around Raven's room, which had a color scheme of purple and black everywhere.

The mirror at which I stood was diagonally to the right of the foot of Raven's bed, which sat at the far wall directly in front of the bedroom door. The mirror itself was in the shape of a pentagon as it "stood" on one of its five corners. The mirror's border was a very dark purple color. The mirror hung above a set of drawers that were pushed up against the wall underneath. The countertop of the drawers was completely open and clear except for three items. Two of them were vases that sat on either end of the mirror's bottom corner. The one on the left was a skinny orange vase, the other was a fatter yellow one. At first I thought they were just two random vases, as evident by how they didn't match Raven's color scheme, but something about the way they looked told me that they had been used more than once, telling me that they were for more than simply decoration. The third item was a gray hand mirror with a long handle. It was circular-shaped, though it has crescent shapes on the left and right sides, and had four points that were designed to look like horns, each one placed at the "corners" of the circle. There were two red spots on the mirror (a large one on top, and a smaller one on the bottom), both diamond shaped and red, as if to resemble Raven's bindi. Next to the mirror was a post-it note that had been taped to the countertop. It read, "Do NOT Touch! That means you, Beast Boy!".

_Point taken_, I think to myself as I ignore the mirror and continue to look around the room.

To the left of the mirror and drawers was a golden cauldron that sat against the wall. It was about halfway between the drawers and the wall on the far left. Right above the cauldron were those two ceramic masks that act as a sort of icon to represent the theater. Usually it consisted of two masks, one representing happiness and triumph, and the other representing sorrow and tragedy. However, the one that was supposed to represent happiness had a bit of a dark twist to it as its smile looked more sinister than happy.

To the left of that, was the far left wall, which completely consisted of three large bookshelves. Looking from left to right, the one on the far left consisted of magical items and relics such as jars, powders, and scrolls and such. The other two are the ones that had all the books, but they were completely filled to capacity, as was made evident by the towers of spare books that were piled up in front of the shelf in the middle of the three. Raven was arguably the biggest bookworm I'd ever met.

There wasn't much to the right wall of Raven's room (looking from the doorway) in comparison to the left wall. In the middle of the wall was Raven's closet, which I ignored (I was already snooping around so I drew the line at going through her closet). To the left of her closet was a large brown trunk, which again, I ignored. To the right was nothing but a single shelf that hung on the wall, which had an assortment of scentless white candles. The only other things in her room were her bed's overhang, which if you looked at it from the right angle resembled her cloak, the long, dark purple carpet that stretched from her bed to her door in a sort of zigzag pattern, the two chandeliers that hung from her ceiling (one by the hook where her cloak hung, and the other right above the trunk), and the large window that sat to the right of Raven's bed (the window itself extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling).

With my tour of Raven's room complete, I walk back over to the right of her bed and look down at her once more. I couldn't help but grin as I looked at how peacefully she slept, snoring her cute reptilian snore as she did so. As I looked down at her, I replayed the events that had happened only moments ago. I had witnessed Raven demonstrating displays of power that proved to be both lethal and vicious. Like Raven feared, I did look at her differently, but not in a negative way.

I always suspected that there was something "up" with Raven, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Now that Raven had shown me her true self, I didn't feel turned off by her, in fact I felt more turned on because I felt that I got to know even more about her. After all, it wasn't like it was Raven's fault, it was just the way she was born. And besides, who was I to judge on appearance or powers? I myself was a werewolf. The only thing that Raven's display did was finally spell out to me what exactly she was. Her species was one that I was all too familiar with, due her species and mine being natural-born enemies. However, I didn't care, she was still an image of beauty to me, and I still loved her.

_It is official. I, a werewolf, am madly in love with Raven, a half-demon._

I looked behind me at her window, whose curtains were pulled back. As I looked through it and out over the ocean, I saw that the earlier pitch-black sky was slowly starting to lighten up. Figuring that Raven would much rather sleep in after the events of that night, I do her the favor of closing the curtains for her. After that was done, I look back at her again as I whisper, "Sweet dreams, Raven."

Before I step out into the hall, I use my x-ray vision and do a full sweep of the Tower (at least at the current level) from the safety of Raven's room. The other Titans were all asleep in their beds.

_As I should be_, I groaned to myself, exhausted from my long night. However I couldn't rest yet, not with all of the blood I had on me. Using my shadow portals as shortcuts, I make a pit stop at the Ops Room to grab my toiletries, my towels, and a change of clothes, before heading to the showers. For the sake of consistency, I choose to use Beast Boy's stall yet again. Normally I would relish and enjoy the water, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was go to bed, so the shower was strictly business. Unfortunately for me, there was so much blood to scrub off that I wound up staying in the shower for another hour and a half before finally getting out. After that was a quick drying, followed by the satisfying feeling of clean clothes. I then use one last shadow portal to return to the Ops Room, stuff my bloody clothes in my laundry bag, Change back into my wolf form, and curl up on the couch to go to sleep.

I don't know what time I went to bed, but I do know that I barely got any sleep. If I had to guess, I'd say I probably got somewhere between three and four hours of sleep, which to me felt more like a single hour. I groan in resentment as Cyborg walked in at 6:00 am, opening the curtains and revealing the sun as he did so.

"Good morning, Jump City", sang a cheerful Cyborg to the start of a sunny day.

"Ugh, where's the snooze button", I whine as a cover my face with my paws attempting to block out the sun.

"That's what you get for staying out too late", he said mockingly. "Besides, I know what'll perk you up, waffles! Speaking of", he says as he pulls out his communicator. "Cyborg to Raven, wakey wakey, waffles and bacy! Get 'em while they're hot!" Upon hearing Cyborg yelling for Raven to wake up, I remember that she needed to sleep in, causing me to spring off the couch.

"Wait a sec, Cyborg", I exclaim a bit too defensively.

"What's up? Raven loves waffles." I then make up a quick lie to justify my exclaims.

"It's too early for yelling", I say with a fake yawn. "I'll go wake the others", I say as I begin to walk out of the Ops Room.

"That's cool. You need the wakeup exercise anyway." I made it a point to go to Raven's room first. Using my x-ray vision, I saw that she was still asleep, despite Cyborg's yelling.

_Phew!_ "Raven", I whispered, pretending to call her. "Raven. Oh well, guess she's still asleep", I snicker to myself as I move on to Beast Boy's room. I couldn't knock, since he was only next-door to Raven's room, so instead I gently claw at the door much like a dog would when they want to be let into the house. When no response came, I clawed again, sticking my ear to the door afterwards. Still I heard no response or movement. "Ugh", I groaned as I opened a portal into his room.

His room was an absolute pigsty. Everything was crammed against the right wall of the doorway with the exceptions of his bunk bed (not sure why he had one), and the set of drawers on the left wall of the doorway. Everywhere else was just empty walls, a large window similar to Raven's, and the tall wall mirror that hung directly across from it. As for the crammed walls, every belonging Beast Boy had was either stuffed in a drawer, stacked on top of the furniture, thrown in his closet, or thrown on the floor. Even as a wolf, I found it difficult to walk around the cluttered mess on the floor as I approached Beast Boy's bed. I had to climb the little ladder because he slept on the top bunk.

"Psst! Beast Boy", I whispered as I nudged him with my paw. "Psst! Beast Boy", I said a bit louder as I nudged him again.

"Yeah, Baby. You're not the only one who can shake the earth", said Beast Boy in his sleep as he rolled over.

"Ugh." I then put up a shield around Beast Boy's bed, with the both of us in it, to block out the sound. I then took a deep breath. "BEAST BOY", I shouted. Beast Boy then lets out a shriek as he falls out of bed.

"Dude, what's your deal", he complained as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Oh, good. You're awake", I say sarcastically and unenthusiastically as I deactivate my shield.

"Don't play coy with me! You break into my room, yell in my ear….", he began to rant.

"Cyborg's making waffles", I interrupt him.

"Sweet! Race ya", he says as he runs out of his room without another word. I shake my head at him as I walked out behind him.

Next up on my list of rounds was Robin. With him being on the other end of the hallway, I didn't have to worry about waking Raven.

"Yo! Robin", I hollered as I pounded on his door with my paw. The always-alert Robin immediately opens his door in response.

"Morning, Wolfman", he says simply as he walks past me towards the Ops Room.

"Well, that was easy", I say to myself as I walk next-door to Starfire's room. "Welp, here goes", I say as I slowly lift my paw to knock on her door. Before doing so, the door opens to reveal a super happy Starfire.

"Happy Morning, all", she says with her eyes closed, a large smile on her face, and her arms spread wide for a hug.

"Yeah, Cyborg's making wa—", I begin as I'm interrupted by Starfire as she lifted me up in a bear hug. Her eyes were still closed.

"Oh, hello to you, Beast Boy", she said as she started to rock me. I grunted in discomfort before answering her.

"I'm not Beast Boy, you twit!" Upon hearing my voice, Starfire opens her eyes, realizes it was me she was hugging, and drops me with a huff. She then floats away with her nose in the air as if I offended her.

"Just when I thought we were making progress", I said to myself sarcastically as I picked myself up off the floor. I then walked back to the Ops Room to meet with the others.

I enter the Ops Room to see Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin, seated at the tables while Cyborg, wearing a chef's hat, was in the kitchen playing around with some bizarre-looking waffle maker that looked almost as high tech as he was. He pushed a button and out came two perfectly cooked waffles on a plate.

"Evil, beware. We have waffles", I say sarcastically (still grumpy from lack of sleep), as I walked over to the foot of one of the tables and sat on the floor (anticipating the probability of eating out of Silkie's food bowl again).

"Wow, it's like Raven was actually here", said Beast Boy.

"Speaking of our friend, where is Raven", asked Robin. I woke up again as I tried to take the attention off of Raven.

"She's meditating", I lied. "She told me she didn't want anybody to disturb her, and that she'll grab some herbal tea later."

"That sounds like Raven", said Cyborg. "Oh well, more for us then!"

_Phew_, I thought to myself as I let out a sigh of relief. From there we ate a relatively quiet breakfast, at least in comparison to the two previous ones, with the exception of the fact that Beast Boy went into great detail about how he came in fifth place in his video game tournament. Starfire had apparently won second place. There was however a bright side to breakfast. Without Raven having to be there, or me having to say or do anything, Cyborg placed my waffles on the tables with everyone else's meals, meaning I didn't have to eat out of Silkie's bowl anymore as I sat at the table like a real Titan.

After breakfast, we had a couple of hours to kill before our next combat practice, so we spent it lounging around and doing other tasks and chores. Robin sat at the tables polishing his birdarangs, Cyborg put the finishing touches on the repaired wall, Starfire sat and cuddled with Silkie, and Beast Boy and I lounged on the sofa while he flipped through the channels on t.v.. Still feeling slothful and a bit sluggish, I didn't comment or care when the majority of that time was spent watching Beast Boy's short attention span get the better of him as he flipped through every channel at least once. He eventually came to a stop when he manages to find a channel featuring a marathon of "Digimon" episodes.

"Sweet! And it's Season 2, too", he says as he pulls up his legs to sit Indian-style as he watches. As a fan of the show myself I perk up a little to watch. It was the second arc of Season 2. The episode we were watching was the one where Davis tries to get his partner, Veemon to digivolve to his champion form. About halfway through the episode, Cyborg walks by, having finished the wall.

"Don't y'all ever get tired of this kid stuff", he says as he grabs the remote and changes the channel. In response to this, Beast Boy morphs into a wolf and the two of us growl at him. "Okay, okay, I'm putting it back", he grumbles as he switches the t.v. from wrestling back to "Digimon". When we returned to the show, Veemon was in the process of digivolving.

"Veemon digivolve to…. Exveemon!" Moments later, we see the first appearance of Exveemon's signature attack. "Vee Laser", he screams as a laser beam shoots from his stomach at his opponent.

_Huh, I wonder if I can do that_, I thought to myself. It was around that time that Robin rushed over and flipped the channel. "Well, that happened", I say sarcastically as I lowered my ears in disappointment. Beast Boy then morphs back to his human form.

"Hey! We were watching that!"

"Sorry, Beast Boy, but it'll have to wait", he says as he points at the screen. It was then we noticed a Jump City news report.

"Joseph Briar (Gothic Goon), Jonathan Stevens (Dreads), and Steel City quarterback, Mackenzie Daniels (Flash), were found dead early this morning in Jump City's downtown hotel district" began the newswoman. Police reports have not yet been released revealing the cause of their deaths. However, it has been revealed the Mr. Daniels in particular is missing his head. The police will be holding a press conference later this evening to discuss the evidence that was found at the scene of the crime. In the meantime, they advise that citizens remain out of that district if possible until further notice.

"Whoa", said Beast Boy.

"What do you think could've happened", asked Cyborg. "What do you think, Star? Star", asked Cyborg as he turned to see that she was no longer in the room. "Hey, where'd she go?"

_I have a theory_, I said to myself. It was then that we heard her scream from Raven's room. _Yup, that figures._

"Starfire", yells Robin as he prepares to run to her aid, but she beat him to the punch as she flies into the Ops Room at breakneck speed. As she does so, she rushes past Robin and charges at me.

"What have you done", she screams at me as she holds me up by my throat again. This time I managed to teleport away from her before answering. I was about to ask her for clarification, as if I didn't know, when Cyborg spoke first.

"Come on, Guys! Can't we all just get along?"

"Yeah, what's up, Star", added Beast Boy.

"This is what is up", replied Starfire as she held up Raven's blood-stained cloak. The boys all gasp upon seeing this.

"No", says Cyborg. Starfire then flies over to where my suitcase laid on the floor and opened it. She then pulls out my laundry bag and dumps its contents on the floor, revealing my bloody clothes as well.

"There is more", continued Starfire. "Raven is indeed asleep, but she is also healing herself. And there is more blood on her face."

"Please tell me this is a joke", said a stern Robin. Not sure what to say, I simply looked at him. "Well?"

"Come on, Man. Say something", pleaded Cyborg.

"You didn't do it, did you", asked Beast Boy. I open my mouth to answer but hesitate.

"Beast Boy asked you a question, Wolfman", said Robin. "Did you, or did you not, kill those men?"

"You have to understand, Robin…", I began.

"Did you, or did you not, kill those men", he repeated. I growl in response to being interrupted.

"Like I was saying….", I began again.

"Did you? Or did you not", he repeated again. I let out a sigh in frustration before answering.

"No."

"Then explain this", he said as he pointed to the pile of bloody clothes.

"Daniels killed the other two, and then I killed him." It was only half of the story, but he didn't need to know that right at that moment, if at all.

"You just said you didn't kill any of them."

"No, I said I didn't kill all three of them. That's what happens when you force me to answer "yes" or "no" questions."

"Why, Dude? Why did you do it", asked Beast Boy.

"I did what I had to do. Daniels was too loose of a cannon to release onto the world."

"Who are you to make that call", challenged Robin. It was around this time that I noticed Cyborg had fallen silent.

"One whose number one priority is the safety of others."

"If you truly cared about the well-being of this city, you'd realize that killing is never the answer."

"Oh, how annoyingly noble of you", I said mockingly in response to Robin having an answer for absolutely everything.

"Dude, you killed somebody", said a still shocked Beast Boy.

"Dude, if you're going to wig out like this every time the topic of death comes up, this is going to be a very long day."

"More like the topic of murder", said Robin.

"So what? You think that changes anything? You can call it "murder" if you want, it still doesn't change what I did. I killed one evil man to make this city a better place for everyone."

"Whether it was one or one hundred, killing is a crime, and you should be punished", shouted Starfire.

"And right now, you're looking at about five to ten years in jail for what you did", added Robin.

"Hmmph. Put Starfire in a pair of cuffs first and I might consider it."

"Starfire hasn't killed anybody", said a now defensive Robin.

"Oh, I beg to differ", I said as I looked over at Starfire. As if she had truly forgotten what she did in the past, she gasps at my direct reference to her. "If you don't tell them, I will." Upon hearing me say that Starfire becomes more submissive.

"What are you talking about", asked Beast Boy.

"What I'm talking about is the day I first met Starfire. It was approximately six years ago in the town of Box Elder, South Dakota. An alien girl and her younger sister appeared out of the sky one day and completely leveled an entire school district right outside the gates of a military base." I heard more gasps from the boys as they looked over at Starfire, who neither tried to deny or argue against my accusations. "Their rampage endangered the lives of several hundred people, including the two teachers and three students that Starfire personally killed.

"No way! Starfire did that", asked Beast Boy.

"It was…. an accident", she replied.

"Whereas you killed Daniels deliberately", added Robin.

"Those deaths may have been accidents, but her rampage was not. And I didn't even mention the people who died during the following three terrorist attacks they made on the local police stations."

"But I've never even been to their police stations", she said to Robin.

"Stop pointing the finger at Starfire! She has nothing to do with what you did", said a now pissed off Robin.

"Wrong again, Bird Brain! The fact of the matter is that it's because of Starfire and her sister that I am in this mess!"

"We are", asked a now concerned Starfire.

"I've heard enough! When we recruited you to this team, we were under the impression that you were a hero. But I see now that you're nothing but a cold-hearted killer, and as such, you belong in a prison cell." Upon hearing him say that, Cyborg's right arm turns into a cannon, Starfire's eyes and fists glow green, and Beast Boy morphs into a tiger. "So I'm only going to ask this once, so listen closely. Are you going to come with us quietly", asks Robin as he whips out his bo-staff.

"Or is this going to get loud", added Cyborg as he took aim at me.

"First of all, I may be a killer, but I'm not cold-hearted", I said as I dropped to all fours and Changed into Lobomon. "Second of all, I say to you what I said to Starfire the other day, just you fucking try it", I challenged.

"Titans, go", shouted Robin. From there, the battle was on.


	24. Wanted

As I stood there, preparing to hold my ground against the four Titans that were rushing at me, I felt the world starting to slow down again.

_What am I doing_, I asked myself. _Am I truly about to fight my new friends, and Starfire_, I think to myself as if somebody else was listening._ It__'__s not their fault, they just don__'__t understand. And without Raven__'__s two cents, they__'__re not going to listen to the killer werewolf who just admitted to killing a human. Besides, Cyborg just finished fixing the wall._ Upon coming to the realization that I didn't want to fight my friends, I instead open a shadow portal under my paws and sink into it. I could feel Robin's staff sweeping across my head at the last minute as I disappeared into the darkness. I emerged out of my second portal on the roof of the hotel from the previous night. Once there, I walked over towards the edge where Raven and I sat and lie on my stomach as I looked down at the world below.

"Well, so much for being a Titan", I say to myself feeling disappointed. Recruited on Saturday, but chased out on Tuesday. "What am I supposed to do now? The Titans were my only lead as far as finding Doctor Light. Do I just stay here despite the Titans? Or should I leave and move on?" Just as I was considering leaving Jump City, I remembered that there was somebody who lived in Jump City that I'd be a fool to leave behind. Even though I was once again homeless and now a wanted murderer, the thought of her still managed to make my tail wag. "On second thought, I think I'll take my chances."

"_Do you always talk to yourself__"_, asked a sassy seagull who was perched on the same roof to my left. She was accompanied by two other seagulls. _"__You__'__ve got to get yourself some friends, Honey.__"_ I glared at her for a moment, hoping she would take the hint to get lost. When she didn't, I huffed and puffed her away instead. The three easily frightened seagulls squawked in a panic as they flew away after my wind pushed them off of the edge.

"Bird Brains", I say to myself as I turn back to the front. As I looked out over the city below, I took the time to think and plan. With the Titans now against me, they were no longer an ally, so once again, the Elementals were on their own. The other Elementals were already at work contacting our allies and rallying our forces, so the only other things I had to focus on were Yea Seul's findings on Jump City's villains, and Kendall. "Well now I definitely can't leave the city. If Doctor Light or Kendall show up, I need to be here", I say as I Change back to my human form and sit up. "Titan or not", I began as I pulled out the communicator Cyborg gave me. "I have a job to do." It was at that moment that I noticed something on my communicator. On its screen, it showed a single red dot in the center. It neither moved or blinked. However, it then showed two more dots above the center dot moving closer to it.

"Uh-oh", I said as I looked over the edge of the roof. Down below, Cyborg and Robin had just pulled up with the T-Car and R-Cycle. And they were looking right at me.

"Freeze", shouts Robin as he points up at me. Naturally I ignore him as I Changed back into Lobomon and ran to the other side of the roof. However, I come to a screeching halt when I saw Starfire and Pteranodon Beast Boy fly up from that side of the building and hover. I slowly started to back up when I heard the sound of metal hitting brick. I look behind me for a moment to see that Robin and Cyborg were using a grappling hook and extendable arms respectively to zip up the side of the building behind me.

"Well, this just blows", I said in a frustrated tone. Starfire immediately responds with a barrage of star bolts. Rather than dodge, I decided instead to hold my ground. I did so by rising to my hind paws, and cloaking my arms with my aura to shield myself as I did before. When the smoke had cleared, I drew back my left paw as I prepared for a Shadow Ball, when Robin interfered. Using his grappling hook, he grabbed my left arm and pulled back on it. I pulled against him in resistance as I was now immobilized by him. "Let go of me", I demanded.

"Not a chance", replied Robin as he continued to pull against me.

"Don't make me do this, Robin", I said as I tracted the claws in my right paw preparing for another Shadow Ball. "Don't make me do this!" Before my Shadow Ball could launch, Cyborg used his left arm as a second grappling hook as he caught my right arm. As a result, the Shadow Ball I was planning to fire at Robin instead is fired up into the sky where it disappears without a trace. With both Cyborg and Robin pulling my arms back, I had no choice but to drop to one knee. The pain and discomfort that came with it caused me to growl. "I don't want to fight!" Beast Boy then morphs back into his human form and approaches me.

"Then don't. There is a bail payment after all." I was well aware of that, but I was thinking about the principle. In that moment when I killed Daniels, I was a Teen Titan, and I did what I felt was right in order to defend innocent lives. I had nothing against turning myself in for doing something wrong. However, I would've sooner turned myself in for the damage I did to the museum, that blonde woman's car, and that dumpster I was thrown in, before I turned myself in for ridding the world of that monster. Besides, the whole bail money idea was a moot point, anyway. With the Titans being my only source of income, once I was thrown in jail after being kicked out, there would've been no way out unless I broke out, which would've only made my situation ten times worse.

"I can't, I shouldn't, and I won't", I roared as I rose to my feet once more and yanked my arms to the front of me. As a result, Robin and Cyborg swung around me and collided into each other, with Beast Boy in the middle. Once I sandwiched the boys, I grew an extra pair of arms and paws and sliced off the restraints they put on my arms, crippling Cyborg in the process as he was now missing his left hand. I then huffed and puffed and blew the three of them over the edge of the roof. Starfire gasped as she dove after them. "That oughtta keep 'em busy", I said as I reabsorbed my extra arms and bolted to another side of the roof. I then leapt off and landed in the middle of the street (fortunately there was no traffic). Once my paws hit the ground I took off like a bat out of Hell.

I had just passed the spot where I killed Daniels (the cops having cleaned up everything there already) when I heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching behind me. I look behind me as I ran to see that I was being pursued by the R-Cycle, the T-Car, and a green cheetah, with Starfire flying above them.

"Fucking Hell", I say as I pick up speed. I then began using my Agility to repeatedly dodge oncoming attacks as I heard the sounds of energy blasts being fired. I look behind me again to see that not only was I dealing with Starfire's usual star bolts, but I was also dealing with two stun blasters courtesy of the R-Cycle, and apparently another proton cannon courtesy of the T-Car. "Aw, crap", I say to myself as the three of them time one final attack with perfect synchronization, so synchronized that I couldn't dodge it. The triple blast hits me and hits me hard as I'm flown through the air further down the road. In fact I think I flew about a good two blocks.

"Okay, that hurt", I say as I picked myself up off the ground. I turn back behind me to see the four Titans charging in for another round of attacks. Since they still had a little bit of distance to go before they reached me, I found this as a perfect opportunity to strike back. "I guess now is as good a time as any." I then rose to my hind paws and crossed my arms across my chest. As I did so, I began charging up my aura. I could feel a symbol being burnt (similar to my spirals) into my stomach. I knew right away what it was. It was the Symbol of Darkness, or rather it was the symbol my ancestors used to represent the Elemental of Darkness, so it was the perfect symbol to use for this situation.

I continued to charge my aura as I waited for the Titans to get closer and closer to me. I was risking my survival against the Titans on this new attack that I had never even tried before now, but if it worked, than it would be worth it. As soon as I felt the Titans were close enough to me, I began to launch my attack. Upon sensing my onslaught, Robin tried to give the Titans one more command at the last minute.

"Titans, move", he shouted. But it was too late. I had them all right where I wanted them, and without Raven, they had no way to shield themselves. I then uncrossed my arms, revealing my stomach as I pushed it forward to unleash my powerful aura.

"Morado Laser", I shouted. I didn't care who heard me at that point. Just as Exveemon's Vee Laser was in the shape of that weird letter that looked like a fusion of the letters "X" and "V", my Morado Laser was in the shape of the Symbol of Darkness. In other words, it was in the shape of a crescent moon. As my laser fired at the Titans, I heard them all scream as they were thrown backwards, vehicles and all, all the way back to where they started after they blasted me. When the purple light died down, I saw them all two blocks away on the ground and wincing as they struggled to recover. "Sweet! It worked", I said as I noticed a familiar building out the corner of my eye to the right of me. I was standing right in front of the Gothic City cafe. It was then that I snapped my fingers after randomly remembering something. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that", I said as I teleported into the cafe, as the gothic counter girl immedately "greeted" me.

"Welcome to—", she began before I interrupted her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, hi. Listen, I'm in a bit of a rush. Do you have a lost and found?" Without even looking the girl points to her left (my right) at a wooden crate to the left of the stage. Without another word, I drop back down to all fours and trot over to the box. I opened it to find that right on top, still in the plastic bag, was the book that Raven bought. "Phew! That was close." I then noticed that a small backpack had been left behind as well. It was at the very bottom of the crate, and from the smell of it, it had been there for quite some time. "Hey, do you mind if I take this, too", I asked as I looked back at the counter girl. She just shrugged in response. "I choose to take that as a "no"", I said as I placed the plastic bag containing Raven's book into the backpack.

I then put it on my back just before I teleported out of the cafe. My paws hadn't even hit the ground yet when I got hit by the T-Car as it slammed into me, at which point I rolled onto the roof of it as Cyborg continued to speed ahead, with my claws digging into the windshield.

"'Sup, Cyborg", I said jokingly as I looked down at him through the glass.

"Get your furry butt off of my car", he demanded as he swerved back and forth trying to shake me off. When I wouldn't let go, Cyborg decided to make a few donuts. The T-Car spun round and round going faster and faster until finally I lost my grip and was flown through the air again. I was then caught by Beast Boy, who had once again morphed into a pteranodon. As he clutched onto my arms with his feet, I could see Starfire charging at us from up ahead. Beast Boy then adjusts his altitude as Starfire starts blasting at me, making sure not to hit Beast Boy's feet. As I growled and roared in pain, I noticed that one of the star bolts destroyed one of the backpack's straps as it hung even more loosely on my back. It was then that I had an idea. _Lobomon digivolve to__…__._, I began in my head as my yellow eyes turned red. Suddenly, I was gone. I disappeared from Beast Boy's grasp and the backpack fell. Starfire then dives to catch the backpack before it hits the ground. Once she did, she comes in for a landing while she waited for the boys to catch up to her.

"Where'd he go", asked Robin as he dismounted his bike and approached her.

"Gone. He has vanished again."

"He escaped?" Beast Boy then morphs back to his human form to join in the conversation.

"No, he vanished. One second I'm flying him over the city like this", began Beast Boy as held his arms up pretending that he was being carried away by a flying dinosaur. "And then Star showed up like, "pew pew pew", and then he was gone."

"All that remains is this", said Starfire as she handed Robin the backpack.

"That's weird", said Cyborg.

"What is", asked Robin.

"If he truly did disappear, then why does his communicator say he's right on top of us", said Cyborg as he looked at a screen on his arm. Cyborg was right. I tricked Starfire and Beast Boy into thinking I disappeared, but in reality, I Changed and then teleported. What the Titans didn't realize was that while they were conversing with one another trying to figure out where I was, I was hiding inside the backpack in my spider form spying on them through the use of my x-ray vision.

"I think I know where he is", said a now suspicious Robin as he started opening the backpack. He may have been a pain in the butt, but he was as sharp as he was tough. Knowing that he was on to me, I decided to Change again from inside the backpack. Robin then screamed in shock and in pain as I, Mambamon jumped out and bit his neck. While he and the other Titans were still stunned, I Change again, revealing another of my forms. One second I was a rattlesnake, and the next I was an American black bear with blue eyes, who on two legs stood at eight feet tall. As the Titans gasped at the large omnivore that towered over them, I let out a large growl as I swatted at them with my powerful paws. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were all thrown backwards a few feet, while Beast Boy, with his quick thinking, morphs into an anaconda and then wraps himself around my arms and head, preventing me from moving.

"_You think you can beat me at thissss__"_, asked the cocky snake as he hissed in my ear. _"__I invented thissss game.__"_

"_Just because you invented it, doesn__'__t mean you can__'__t be beaten at it__"_, I growled at him as I Changed back into Mambamon. With both of us fighting as snakes, we probably looked like a giant knot as the two of us slipped through each other, desperately trying to outwit the other, while occasionally biting each other. The two of us then, in the heat of the fighting, roll and tumble towards one of those street drain things that led to the sewers, except this one was missing the gate as it was now a large hole in the side of the street that a cat could fall into.

"Beast Boy, be careful", cried Robin, again, it was too late. Before we knew it, both me and Beast Boy tumble into the hole and into the sewer water down below.

"_Thissss issss sssso grossss__"_, whined Beast Boy as he poked his head out of the water with his tongue sticking out. With him distracted I took the opportunity to bite his neck. The much larger snake hissed in pain as he struggled to shake me off, all while the current dragged us deeper into the sewers. As the we traveled deeper and deeper in filth, Beast Boy and I continued our battle for dominance. I didn't realize it then, but the two of us had developed a sense of respect for one another as we fought each other. Out of respect for our opponent on the battlefield, I refrained from using any of my extra Elemental powers, while Beast Boy limited his morphs to only a wolf, a lion, a bear, and an anaconda as he fought me. We were about ten minutes further into our battle as we wrestled in the water as lions when we noticed the current getting even stronger.

"_Uh-oh__"_, said Beast Boy.

"_Brace yourself__"_, I replied. The two of us screamed as we were tossed around like toys as the sewer water now acted like underground white waters. To make matters worse, just like white waters, this increase in the current led us to a waterfall. Normally the two of us could easily avoid this as all we had to do was become a different form and fly away. However, the both of us were fighting off fatigue and were too exhausted to do so. The two of us scream again as the waterfall pushes the two lions over the edge, causing me to black out once we hit the water below.

When I came to, I was washed up on a small shore. As I slowly rose to my paws, I noticed Beast Boy was unconscious next to me, with he and I both still in our lion forms. I take a look around to find out where we were. Behind us, on the other side of a small pool of water, was a cliff with a large pipe in it. The pipe was pouring out water as it collected in the pool below. I looked ahead of me to see that the water then traveled over the side of another small cliff that fell into the river below as it traveled along the coast through a nearby forest, and that Beast Boy and I had lucked out and washed on shore before we fell over. Having realized that, I immediately go over to Beast Boy and drag him by gruff of his neck out of the water. I was relieved to find that the large green cat was still breathing as I placed him back down. I look back at the pool of water and noticed that unlike the sewage we were fighting in, this water was clean.

"Not sure how, but somehow we survived the purification process", I said with a sigh as that was one of the luckiest breaks I'd ever had. I then run over to the cliff and begin scaling my way to the top with my large claws. Fortunately for me, the cliff was in no way very tall, and in any case, scaling that cliff was much easier than when I scaled the tower a few days prior. When I reached the top, I slowly lift my head up so that I could see, as I was still on the run from the other Titans. It was then I noticed the playground about three or four yards away from the cliff, though to its credit, kind of (I didn't think it was an ideal place for a playground), between the playground and the cliff was the street and the metal railing that sat at the edge. I also noticed that the playground was completely empty, which made sense considering the sun was about to set in a couple of hours. "Man, we were out for a while", I said as I climbed back down and made my way back to Beast Boy.

When I returned to him, I Changed back into my human form and pull out my communicator. It was badly damaged and I couldn't get it to turn on. I then Change my fingernails into Lobomon's claws as I pry of the back of the communicator to reveal the wiring that made it work. Since Beast Boy was still in his lion form (don't ask me where clothing or accessories go when we become animals, because I'll just tell you that it's magic), I couldn't use his communicator. Besides, since we'd been lying at the edge of the city unconscious for the past several hours, and the other Titans still haven't found us yet, it was probably safe to assume that his communicator got damaged just as mine had. That said, I started tinkering with mine as volts of electricity sparked from my claws. It took some doing, but eventually I managed to get my communicator to send out a very weak distress signal.

"Let's hope this works", I said as I placed the communicator on the ground by one of Beast Boy's paws. It was then that I heard something approaching us from the forest. Anticipating another fight, I Change back into Pantheramon and move closer to Beast Boy, as if preparing to defend his unconscious body. The oncoming threat rustled through the trees as it got closer and closer to us. After a while, it stopped, and everything grew quiet. "Show yourself", I demanded with a roar. In response to my demand, a little sphere-shaped drone robot thing floated over towards me. It had a little screen on the front of it like a little television. I push it with my paw curiously as it floats around towards Beast Boy. I push it again defensively as I position myself to where I was standing over the sleeping Titan. The robot then releases a blue light as it scans me up and down. When it completed its scan, it spoke to me.

"Scanning process complete. Target identified." The robot's screen then turned on, and its controller appeared on screen.

"There you are", began the man who wore a costume that made him look like a giant anthropomorphic moth. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Why is that?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Allow me to introduce myself."

"There's no need for it. I know who you are." My date night with Raven was paying off. "You're Killer Moth."

"I see. So you've heard of me? What have you heard?"

"Only that you're a mad scientist trying to take over the city."

"Very good, my feline friend. Although, I prefer to think of myself as, "visionary"", he said with a chuckle.

_You__'__re a vain bastard, aren__'__t you_, I thought to myself as I stood there observing how large an ego the guy had.

"Since you already know who I am, and I know who you are, let's cut to the chase."

"I'm listening."

"Here's the deal. I've been watching you for quite some time. When news of those three murdered kids hit the streets, I sent my drone here to follow you. Based on the way the Titans came after you only moments after their deaths were announced, I assume that it was you who killed them. I also saw the way you handled yourself against four out of five of the Titans single-handedly, even to the point where you took the extra time to rob a coffee shop in the process. You've got real guts, Kid."

_So this Killer Moth guy has been watching me, but only for the course of my fight with the Titans. It also seems that he mistook my carrying Raven__'__s book in that backpack for robbing the cafe. Note to self: find out what happened to that book when this is all over._

"I also noticed that you've even dragged one of the Titans into the sewers with you", he continued as he pointed to Beast Boy. I then position myself to where I was standing over the communicator to make sure he couldn't see it. To draw his attention from it, I placed my paw on the green lion's shoulder in a sort of Captain Morgan pose as if to indicate that I defeated him. "Very impressive. Tell me, what say you to a little deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"My associates and I—", he began. He was interrupted by somebody in the background.

"Daddy! Da-ddy", screamed some nearby younger woman who I assumed was his daughter based on what Raven told me.

"Ugh", said Killer Moth as he facepalmed himself in frustration. "One moment please", he continues as he disappears offscreen to tend to his daughter. I then had to sit through a few minutes of tedious offscreen bickering while I waited for him to return.

_Let__'__s go, Dude! Some of us are on the run here!_

"Sorry about that", he said when he finally returned. "As I was saying, my associates and I have been trying to take over Jump City for quite some time. Problem is, we're constantly being thwarted by those meddling Titans." I bet a hundred bucks that he wanted to say, "kids" instead of "Titans". "That's where you come in. With your impressive strength, and shapeshifting abilities, I think we can finally put those little brats in their place. With them gone, Jump City will be ours for the taking. We will rule together! The entire city will kneel before Killer Moth and uh, uh, what did you say your name was?"

_So to summarize, this guy thinks that I murdered Daniels and his friends in cold blood. Furthermore, because I was able to escape being captured by the Titans, he wants me to join his team to help him defeat them._ It was then that I had a very sneaky idea. This guy didn't have a clue as to who he was talking to or what the situation was, but if I played this right, he could prove to be very beneficial to me.

"They call me the Wolfman", I said to him with confidence as I Changed into my wolf form.

"Wolfman, eh? Has a nice ring to it. Very sinister", he says with another chuckle. It was then that my ears began to twitch. I looked behind me to listen for the source of the new sounds I was hearing.

"Beast Boy", cried Robin from somewhere nearby.

"Beast Boy", cried Cyborg and Starfire. They were following my distress signal.

"It's those Titans again! Quickly, follow my drone to my lab. We'll continue discussion there."

"Then lead on", I replied as I looked back at him. The drone then took a dive over the cliff and into the forest. "You're in good hands now, Beast Boy", I said as I looked down at the still sleeping green lion. I then leapt over the edge of the cliff as Killer Moth had instructed me to do.


End file.
